


Running Water, Burning Flame

by Avengerrox1



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-08-08 18:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 29,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7769086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avengerrox1/pseuds/Avengerrox1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sif's little sister Atla has spent the first part of her life with the Jotuns, and it is the best day of her life when she makes it back to Asgard and where she belongs. But she doesn't remain there long. On Earth, she finds her destiny and changes it. Note: this fic takes place before the events of Age of Ultron, was begun before Age of Ultron, and I have messed with canon a bit on this. Teen and up because I have a bit of a potty mouth, no graphic violence or sexual content. Updates Fridays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Asgard

"Lady Sif!" the page called, as he came into the training arena. I looked up from my wrestling match with Thor, and the prince took advantage of my distraction and flipped me. I landed hard on my back, and, despite the heavy pads in the wrestling area, my breath was knocked out of me, and I was defeated.

"Apologies, my lady, but your parents request your presence in their home at once." Thor stretched out his hand, grinning at my defeat.

"Who has perished?" I asked, taking his hand. I let my weight hang for rather longer than was truly neccesary, but he hauled on my arm and I was forced to get my balance back quickly, or risk falling over again and bruise my dignity further.

"Pardon, my lady?" the page asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"My parents have never seen fit to call me to their house since the day I came here for training, ten years ago. Someone must have perished to force them to call me home."

"No one has perished, my lady. They have some joyful news for you, though they didn't, of course, give me the details."

"Of course." I started towards the door leading to outside, but Thor gently pushed me towards the changing room.

"I do not believe your parents woud be too happy if you came in that." I looked down at myself. I was wearing my usual training clothes: a loose tunic with a wide belt over tight leggings. It was almost exactly the same as the men wore, except for the fact that my tunic was slightly longer.

"I believe you are right," I told him, then turned for the changing room, adding, under my breath, "For once."

"I heard that!"

I pulled off the sweaty clothes and put them in a basket. The servants would wash them for me and put them on my shelf in the changing room. With the aid of one of my maids, I pulled on a simple, emerald green dress with a square neckine and lovely embroidery around the waist. The skirt was long enough to cover my feet, but the maid insisted on matching green slippers. Finally, she pulled my hair into an elegant twist on the back of my head, with a few tendrils hanging down to soften my angular face.

"Are you finished?" Thor's voce called from the door.

"Just finished," I replied, walking out. He held out his arm.

"Shall I accompany you?"

I took his arm. "Yes, thank you." I wasn't sure why my parents had decided to call me back, but I would, in all probability, need a friend nearby, in case I began to break furniture. Thor wasn't the brightest, but he was the most sympathetic of my four fellow trainers and friends, as well as the one most likely to be able to restrain me.

We walked in slightly uneasy silence to my parents' house, just a little ways outside the palace. I took a deep breath, smoothed my hair and straightened my gown, and knocked on the door. Mother opened the door. She was just as soft-looking as I remembered, though she now had many more gray hairs in her black bun.

"Oh! Sif!" She pulled me into a hug, which I semi-gracefully accepted. She held me at arm's length to look at me. "Oh, gods, you have certainly grown since I last saw you. You're so beautiful."

"I would hope I have changed since I was ten years old." Thor elbowed me in the stomach. Mother gasped, but before she could say anything, Father's voice echoed through the house.

"SIF?! IS THAT YOU?" I winced. Father had never really been a quiet man.

"Come in, Sif, and let's have some food." Mother's eyes went wide as she finally recognized who was behind me. "Prince Thor!" She started to bend into a low curtsey, but Thor interrupted.

"Please, madam, spare yourself. I have enough of bowing and curtsying at the palace." Mother nodded and led us into the house. Father was sitting in his favored chair in the main room. He was as fat as ever, with a long brown beard and hair. A stranger was sitting in another chair, with her head bowed. Her black hair flowed down around her face, so I couldn't make out her face.

"Good evening, Father." I came over and gave him a quick hug, my eyes still on the girl. "Who's this?"

"Sif, you might wish to sit down. Prince Thor, if you would excuse us?" Mother said, coming around to stand behind Father.

"No, please. He can stay." I did not wish for him to leave me with my family. They might have been nice so far, but that could change in a instant.

"Very well." Father motioned Thor to a seat, and I sat next to him. "Atla, please look up." The girl--Atla-- slowly looked up. I involuntarily sucked in my breath and Thor gaped as we saw her face. She looked like a younger version of me- she had the same slight angles that I could see would sharpen over time, and darker lips. Her eyes were different, an icy blue rather than my dark eyes. None of that, however, was what caused our reactions. Her face was perfect-except for an ugly scar that started on the middle of her forehead, ran on her nose some, then curved to under her left eye.

"Hello, Sif," she said, obviously self-conscious.

Mother took a deep breath. "This is your sister."

"I am sorry, I believe I misheard you. I thought you said that she is my sister." I was simply being difficult, however. Anyone could see that we were related. "Now really, is she a cousin? What?"

"Your sister," Father echoed.

"Why didn't this come up long ago? Why am I finding out about this now?" The questions tumbled out of my mouth as I struggled to come to terms with this new fact.

"Sif! Calm yourself!" Thor said, coming out of his daze. Mother faced me.

"You were five when Atla was born. Then, we were still at war with Jotunheim. One day, the Jotuns came to Asgard. We had managed to get you to safety, but as we were leaving our home, one of the Jotuns took baby Atla from my arms. We couldn't go after them, as the war was ended soon after that."

"That's how I ended up with this," Atla interrupted, tracing the scar on her face. "They treated me fairly well, but when I misbehaved, they were brutal. This was from when I asked why I wasn't as tall as the others my age, and why I wasn't blue. They used a cursed blade, that Asgardians can never truly heal from." She looked at me nervously. She clearly had heard of my temper, and was unsure of my reaction. I could not bear it any longer. She looked so helpless, like the stray puppies that wander to the kitchens sometimes looking for scraps. I rushed to her and lifted her in the air in a bear hug.

"Welcome home, little sister."

"Sif, put her down!"

"What?" Puzzled, I set her on her feet, and saw that her blue eyes were shining, and far too wide. She seemed to be seeing something horrible. "What's wrong with her?"

"The Jotuns gave her more scars than just the one on her face," Father said. I snapped my fingers in front of her staring eyes, and she blinked several times, coming out of her daze.

"What happened?" she asked. "I apparently hugged you too hard." She blushed.

"Sorry." She held out her arms. "Try again?" I gently took her in my arms, without squeezing her. After a moment, she let go, and turned to my-our- parents.

"So what happens now?"

"I know," Thor spoke up. "We return to the palace and organize a feast for Lady Sif's long-lost sister, returned to us at last!"


	2. A Feast!

We followed Thor's advice, though I could tell Atla was nervous. She was obviously not used to Asgardians. I decided that I was going to take care of her while she was at the palace, and I had an idea.

Thor led us all back to the palace, and was about to take us directly to the throne room to see King Odin when I stopped him.

"If we are going to introduce Atla to the Allfather, I must insist that she be dressed properly."

Atla looked down at her worn beige traveling dress and cloak. Both were too small as well as being almost threadbare, and she smiled shyly. "New clothes would be nice."

"Then come with me. I'm sure my maids can find some of my clothes from when I was that age." I led her to my chambers, where the maids fussed and clucked over the girl before coaxing her into a bath and scrubbing her down. Another came in with one of my old gowns, a turquoise dress with a modest v-neck. She had to borrow some slippers I was wearing now, though. One thing I know for sure: she was going to be tall. I shooed the maids away then, and put up most of her hair into a lovely bun. She had long bangs, though, that I left to drape on either side of her face.As I was putting a comb into the bun, I noticed something odd about her hair: A stripe in the back, usually covered by the rest of her hair, was a dark, blue-black, rather than just black.

"What's this?"

"I don't know. It started to grow five years ago. The Jotuns treated me much better after I grew that, though they never explained why."

"Hmm. Well, time for jewelry." I found a blue pearl necklace and put it around her neck. "All finished." I brought her to the mirror, and she looked in it, wide-eyed.

"Haven't you ever seen yourself before?"

"I have, but it was always forbidden glimpses. And I have never seen myself looking so beautiful."

"Well, if I have anything to say about it, you will look this beautiful for the rest of your life." I brought her back to the main hall, where Mother, Father, and Thor were waiting. Mother began to weep when she saw Atla and I together.

"You look so beautiful, and so similar!" she said, pulling us both into a hug. I pulled myself out. I might have accepted Atla, but I was still not pleased with my parents. Thor then tugged on my arm and pulled me to the throne room, my family following behind.

Thor nodded to the guards outside the throne room, and they parted respectfully, bowing to Thor and me. They exchanged glances at my parents, and when they saw Atla and her scar, they stopped us.

"Your pardon, Lady Sif and Prince Thor, but who is this?"

"This is my sister," I replied fiercely. "Now let us pass."

"We didn't know you had a sister, Lady Sif."

"Neither did I until this evening. Now let us through." the guards exchanged glances, but before they could say anything, Thor scowled at them.

"Let us through at once!" And without further ado, he pushed through the guards and, pulling me with him, burst into the throne room.

"Father! We have wondrous news!" Thor exclaimed, as Odin turned to us.

"Ah, young Atla is returned to us at last. Come here, I won't hurt you." Odin spoke, as his eye settled on Atla. Her eyes widened in shock.

"How did he know who I am?" she whispered to me.

"I know a great many things, Atla." She flushed slightly. "Come here, my dear."

I pushed her slightly, and she reluctantly walked up to his throne. She performed a strange ritual, that looked somewhat like a curtsy, but kept both her hands behind her back, instead of sweeping her skirts out to her side, and bowed her head so it was almost touching her chest. Behind me, Father gasped.

"She really was raised as a Jotun."

"What do you mean?"

"Does that look like an Asgardian curtsy to you?"

Odin watched her carefully as she sank to the stone floor, but frowned slightly when he saw the back of her head. "What is that stripe of hair you have on the back of your head?"

"I don't know, my lord. About five years ago it showed up in my hair, and suddenly the Jotuns treated me like a royal child. It was very strange."

"So that's how things are going." Atla looked up, puzzled, but Odin shook his head, indicating that he would not explain any more. "You have had a long journey, and I see Thor is anxious for an excuse to have a feast." Thor flushed a little, and I nudged him.

"Send out the word: there shall be a feast tonight!"

I smiled. At the ball after the feast tonight, I could ask Odin about training Atla to fight. No sister of mine would remain defenseless. Then again, no sister of mine would choose to remain defenseless against the Jotuns after what they did to her. If it were me, I would be fighting to get to Jotunheim and take my revenge. Surely Atla would be the same.

Atla tapped my shoulder, startling me. "Are we dismissed?"

"Yes. Now we have a light lunch in my chambers and get you ready for the feast and ball."

"Isn't this nice enough for a ball?" she asked, looking down at her dress.

I laughed. "Of course not! That is a day dress, not for a feast and ball. Especially a feast and ball where you're the guest of honor. That reminds me, you will definitely be staying here tonight, but do you want to go to our parents' home, or stay here with me after that?"

"Would you want me to stay with you?" Atla looked down at her hands.

"Yes, and I don't think you could do as much with yourself in the village. Stay here!"

"Well... If you really want me to stay."

"Of course I do! If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked."

"Wonderful!" I gently hugged her, then pulled away and led her to my room again. The maids were in a flurry getting dresses ready for us, and I couldn't blame them. It had been a while since the last feast. 

"Ladies, have a room near mine set up for Lady Atla. She will be staying here with me." The maids curtseyed, smiling broadly, but I spotted several of the lower maids handing some coins to the head lady-in-waiting with a sour expression. She placed them in her money pouch and, when she saw me watching, winked broadly. Clearly she had placed a bet on Atla, and won.

The night passed in a blur of drinking, laughter, and music. At the ball, I walked over to the fighting master and curtseyed, then said, "Would you care to join me for a walk? I would speak to you about some rather important concerns."

"Thank you, I believe I shall join you." He offered his arm and I took it, and we strolled over to the door leading to the gardens.

"I have asked Atla to join me in the palace for the foreseeable future, and I would see that she is trained to fight."

He looked over to where Atla was dancing with one of the younger men of the court. She was very graceful, even though it was clear she wasn't sure of the dance. The young man was very polite about it, guiding her through so she wouldn't make a fool of herself.

"She already has natural grace. I don't think it will be too difficult to train her, if she is willing."

"Of course she will be. When shall she start?"

"Why not tomorrow? The boys will be too sick to train, most likely, so we can start and she won't have to worry about making a fool of herself in front of them."

"Perfect. Thank you very much." I curtseyed again and started to make my way to the refreshment table, but Thor appeared first.

"Lady Sif! Come dance with me!" He was reeling slightly, and I could smell the ale coming off him. 

"Oh very well." I took his proffered hand, and we started to dance.

"What were you discussing with our illustrious instructor?"

"I wish to have Atla trained to fight, as any Asgardian woman should."

"When will that begin?"

"Tomorrow, if all is well."

"Excellent! I shall be there too, then."

Wonderful.


	3. I Will Not

I awoke the next morning in a strange bed. I scrambled up, horrified that I had overslept. The Jotuns were going to kill me for being so lazy! My long strides were impeded, and I looked down to see a long white nightgown. That was strange. I had never been given more clothes for sleeping.  
"Lady Atla?" a voice called from the other end of the room. I spun around, and saw a maid standing there, her head tilted to one side. She was definitely not a Jotun.  
"Lady Atla, is something amiss?" All the pieces fell into place then. I was no longer with the Jotuns. I was a lady. I had a sister who would defend me tooth and nail. I was where I should be: in Asgard.  
"No, everything's all right."  
"Well, then we need to get you dressed." The maid bustled around me, putting a simple dress of dove-gray silk with darker slippers on me.  
"What's going on today?" I asked, as she pulled my hair into a knot on top of my head.  
"You're starting your training."  
"My what?"  
"Training. To fight? Your sister insisted." She finished the knot and started to leave, then instead came back. "I'm sorry, do you need me to show you how to get to the training building?"  
"Yes, thank you."  
The maid guided me through the maze of a palace, chattering about nothing in particular. It was rather nice, to chat without any meaning. Soon, though, we came to the garden outside, and from there, went to a strange building. It was completely lacking decoration, save an emblem wih a sword and axe crossed. The building itself seemed to be divided in two, with one half nearly three times as high as the other. The maid led me into a door in the lower area, and in there, we found a hall with two doors, labeled for men and women. In the women's, I found a table in the center of the room, with shelves running around the edge. I could see a dark purple gown already laid out on a shelf, as well as shoes. An adjoining room held a bathtub and chamberpot.  
"Ah, Lady Sif is already here," the maid observed, looking at the shelves with the gown and slippers. "Now here, she had us bring in some training clothes for you." She took some gray clothes off the shelf underneath Sif's and put them on the table. Then, she pulled the dress off me and helped me to put on the clothes. They turned out to be a light gray sleeveless tunic over darker leggings, belted around my waist. The tunic came down to halfway down my thighs and the leggings came nearly to my feet, but I still felt exposed. There were no shoes. The maid then gave me a little shove toward a closed door.  
"Go on, then. They're expecting you."  
I nervously padded over to the door and opened it. I gasped in amazement. This was clearly the higher part of the building. The ceiling was amazingly high, with a catwalk running around the edge about halfway up. I spotted some stairs leading up in one corner. The lower area was mostly dedicated to a large pad, with racks on the edges of the room holding everything from wood swords to two-handed battleaxes. On the pad, Sif and a grizzled man I vaguely recognized from the feast were sparring, each with a pole about six feet long. They spun, whirled, blocked, and attacked with smooth movements that looked like part of some kind of strange dance. Finally, Sif managed to crack the older man on the hand with her pole hard, and he dropped his staff. In a matter of a few seconds she swept his feet out from under him and held her pole to his throat.  
"Well done, Sif," he said, as she lowered her pole. "You are improving remarkably with the polestaff."  
"That is Sif's main weapon. She is remarkable, is she not?" a voice came from beside me. I turned and saw Thor next to me. He was dressed almost exactly like Sif and me, but his tunic was a little shorter. He had one hand on his head, and winced when the man picked up their poles together with a sharp clack.  
"Overindulged, Thor?" Sif asked, walking to stand next to me. "You should have stayed in bed and gotten more sleep."  
"I had told you I would be here, and I do not want to break a promise."  
Sif scowled at him, then turned to me. "Welcome to the training center. Ordinarily, Volstagg, Fandril, and others would be here as well, but they made the wise decision to stay in bed."  
Thor made a face behind her back, and I giggled in spite of myself. Sif whirled, but Thor had quickly composed himself and looked at her with innocent curiosity.  
"What do you say to a bout, Thor? Show Atla how it's done."  
"Only if we fight without weapons. I do not care to challenge you on polestaff."  
"Fine, and I can pay you back for yesterday."  
The grizzled man beckoned me over.  
"My name is Drigg, and I am the fighting instructor here. I would recommend a retreat into the viewing balcony. If it were anyone else, I would say to begin training alongside them, but they tend to range all over the pad, and it is not safe to stay down here."  
He motioned to the stairway, and we walked up the stairs to the platform.  
Down below, the two bowed, then took a crouch. Drigg blew a whistle, and Thor rushed at Sif, who sidestepped and grabbed Thor in a headlock. In order to do this, she had to jump on his back, and I gasped. This much physical contact was not usually permitted between a male and female. Thor reached behind his head and grabbed Sif by her upper arms before throwing her. She flew across the room and hit the wall before sliding to the floor. I gasped and started to climb back down the ladder to help her when Drigg grabbed my arm.  
"Your sister is tough, and this is not the first time she has been thrown into a wall." Indeed, she was already rising, and ran to meet Thor again. As Drigg had said, the match ranged all over the huge room, and more than once, Sif was tossed into the air, almost to my eyelevel. It never took her more than ten seconds to get back up. Finally, though, she managed to whirl Thor throught the air and slam him against the wall on the other side, and he didn't rise. Instead, he raised one fist, and opened it to reveal his palm. Drigg chuckled.  
"I suppose that was payback for yesterday."  
"What?"  
"Never mind." We climbed down the stairs to the main level, where Sif was already helping Thor up. Both looked a little bruised and battered, but were smiling like maniacs.  
"What did you think of that?" Sif asked, as we came closer to the two fighters.  
"It was interesting, but I'm not sure about this."  
"About what? Fighting?" Sif looked as though she couldn't believe her ears. "Everyone learns to fight! Even the queen can knock you flat on your back if she feels the need."  
"Yes, but, I don't want to hurt anyone."  
"Don't you want revenge on those Jotuns?"  
"No! I don't want to ever go near them again."  
Throughout our conversation, Thor watched, his eyes going back and forth between the two of us, like he was watching his own fight with Sif. Drigg busied himself organizing already perfect racks of broadswords.  
"I don't want to fight, Sif. Not now, not ever."  
She looked at a loss, something I hadn't seen before. Even when I had first raised my head in our parents' home and she first saw me, she had kept a careful, blank face. Now, however, she clearly had no idea how to react. Then, her lips thinned, and her eyes hardened.  
"No sister of mine will choose not to fight."  
"Then, I suppose, I am no sister of yours." I turned on my heel, careful to keep a blank face, and strode out of the room and into the changing room. The maid was waiting and had probably heard everything, but she didn't say anything, just helped me into the beautiful dove dress. Then she led me to my room, and she and the other maids left me alone. I could hear them talking as they left, and I heard snippets: "...doesn't want to fight...weird...too peaceful...weak..."  
I went to my bed in a daze. So it was true. Everyone knew how to fight here. Except me. And that was perfectly okay by me. Every time I even thought about trying to inflict harm on anything, a sick feeling hit my gut. I couldn't learn to fight. And that was fine.  
Apparently not to the rest of the castle. Whenever I went anywhere, everyone stared at me, and the younger children outright pointed at me, before being scolded by their mothers. When they thought I was out of earshot, they talked about me, calling me weird, cowardly, and weak. This went on for a week before I stopped leaving my rooms in the day. I became nocturnal, sleeping during the day, and wandering the palace at night. This only added to my weirdness in the eyes of the palace. I never saw Sif until my last day in Asgard.  
A month later, I was sleeping in my bed at noon. Suddenly, the curtains on the window were drawn back, and the room was filled with light. I awoke with an indignant noise, which died in my throat when I saw Sif standing by my bed, hands on hips.  
"Get up, you slugabed. I have had quite enough of you."  
"What do you mean?" I got up and stretched, keeping a careful eye on Sif.  
"Just bcause I don't consider you my sister doesn't mean others don't. I am still looked at as strange because my little sister refuses to be seen in daylight. Gods, look at you. When was the last time you went outside? You're pale as a corpse."  
"I haven't been outside because everyone points and stares."  
"If you would consent to training, you would be able to leave your room."  
"No. I refuse to train. I will not."  
Sif sighed. "Then there is only one other way to regain your dignity."  
"And what is that?"  
"Go to Midgard. It's sort of a ritual."  
I considered. On one hand, Sif was not pleased with me, so how could I trust her? On the other hand, Sif was not pleased with me, and I doubted if I could recover from being thrown into a wall like Thor.  
"All right. Tomorrow."  
Sif grinned. "Perfect."


	4. No Response

I spent the rest of the day awake, carefully packing. I had no clue what Midgard was like, or how long I would be staying, so I packed several dresses, as well as some training clothes. Sif insisted on the latter. I also put in all the jewelry I had. I could possibly sell it on Midgard to get food. I also went down to the kitchens. I surprised the head cook.

"Lady Atla! I haven't seen you here in the day for a month!"

"Well, Sif can be quite persuasive."

"Ah. Well, what can I get you?"

I left the kitchens weighed down with preserved food of all kinds. The kitchen staff were among the few in the palace who still talked to me, possibly because several of them were similarly inclined to peace.

I wandered the palace some after that, ending up in the garden. As I walked through, I saw a figure sitting, his back to me. He had black hair slicked back and green clothes.

"Hello," I said, and he startled, stood up, and turned around. His eyes were green, too. He smiled at me and sketched a half-bow.

"You must be Atla, Sif's sister," he said. I frowned a little.

"Not according to her."

"I know what it's like to be overshadowed. My name is Loki. I'm Thor's brother."

"Really? You don't look anything like him."

From a distance, and blurrily, I saw Odin picking up a Jotun child. As Odin lifted him, he lost his Jotun coloring, becoming pale with green eyes. Loki's eyes.

"Atla? Is something wrong?" My eyes refocused on Loki, who was now looking quite concerned. Loki. A Jotun. One of the creatures that had enslaved me for the first ten years of my life.

"Frost Giant," I breathed and backed away, then turned and ran back to my room, ignoring his calls.

Finally, that night, I went to bed at a normal time for the first time in what felt like ages. I tossed and turned for a long time, though. I tried to pass it off to myself as my body adjusting to a new sleep schedule, but I knew that I was nervous. What if I couldn't get back? I tried to tell myself that Sif wouldn't let that happen, but who knew? At last, I fell asleep.

The next day, I woke up, stretched, then put on a simple traveling dress and grabbed the supplies I had packed. Then Sif barged in, and dragged me out of the palace and to the gates of Asgard.

A giant of a man stood with a sword in the strange dome, his back to us. I blinked.

Images of blue giant warriors sprang into my mind, all poised to attack me. I saw the royals striking me for disobeying a command. One tall Jotun came closer, caressing a shimmering, malvolent blade.

"Do you know what this is, child?" he crooned, creeping closer. "This is a cursed blade. One that your kind can never heal from. Perhaps this will teach you not to ask questions." On the final word, he lunged, bringing the sword down my forehead and nose.

"Atla? ATLA?!" I blinked again, and my eyes refocused on Sif and the tall man, who had come down from the center of the room. I felt a momentary surge of panic when I saw him this close, but calmed down when I saw that he had dark brown skin and golden eyes, not blue skin and red eyes. Sif had a mixture of annoyance and concern on her face.

"As I was saying, Heimdall, I need a portal to Midgard opened. Atla wishes to regain her dignity after not choosing to fight." I blushed and ducked my head.

"If you choose, but do be careful. It is no longer the time where you go down and they worship you. Try to blend in, and be very careful." The man--Heimdall-- replied. He had a deep voice like the Jotuns, but where their voices were rough and ominous, his was flowing and warm. I relaxed even more.

"Of course, Heimdall." Heimdall bowed his head slightly and returned to the center. He plunged his sword into the center, and the whole dome spun, and soon I was hurtling through the air. Flashes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple blurred past me, making me dizzy. I landed on hard packed dirt. I pushed myself to my feet, then looked around for Sif. She was nowhere in sight.

"Sif? SIF?!" There was no response. I didn't feel at all brave or ready now.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What have you done?" Odin thundered from his chair. I didn't look up at him, but kept my eyes down.

"It was spiteful and petty of me. But couldn't you just bring her back?"

There was a long silence from the throne, and I chanced a glance up. The king now sat back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

"I could, but I think not. It could be good for her. It could help her develop..."

"Develop what?"

He looked up sharply. "Never mind. Sif, back to your room. Heimdall, keep an eye on Atla."

I bowed, then returned to my room. What had Odin meant by developing? Why was the Jotun -raised freak so important, anyway?


	5. New York City

\----------------------------------------------------Ten years later-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dammit!" I hit the alarm clock to make it stop ringing and nearly fell out of bed in my hurry to get up. The gyosannim would not be happy with me if I missed two morning practices in a row. I remembered well his irritation yesterday.

"If you wish to make it to the next geup, you must be on time," he had said. Wait. The next geup-Crud! The promotion test was today! I put on my uniform as fast as I could, then slid on my shoes and ran out the door. Thank Odin the dojang was close to my apartment. I skidded in the door, then took off my shoes and ran to the main room.

"I see you managed to make it on time today, Ann." I blinked, then looked at the clock on the other side of the room. It read 7:00 on the dot. I had made it. I shrugged off the strange feeling of the odd name, then bowed to the instructor.

"I have. I am ready for the test."

"Excellent. David will be sparring with you. And Ann? What have you done to your hair?"

"My hair?" I pulled my long ponytail over my shoulder to look at it. The night before, only half of it was the strange dark blue. Now every strand was the color of the twilight sky. I looked up.

"I don't know." He frowned, but accepted it, as he had accepted the way I hadn't changed hardly at all since I wandered in ten years ago, looking for a friendly face and a place to stay. Then, this country had been plunged in a huge world war, and I was accepted as a refugee. I became Ann Sift, tae kwon do artist and ballet dancer. Some scoffed at the strange mix, but they fit together in more ways than one.

I went to the center of the room, and David and I bowed to each other, then began sparring. We were fairly well matched, but I became tired soon. No! I cannot be defeated! I must get to the next level! I could feel the frustration rising, and soon, out of sheer desperation, threw my hands out, palms out ward, to block a kick. Jets of crystal clear, blue water spurted out of my hands, knocking David back and into the wall opposite with a crack. I closed my hands into fists immediately, and the jets stopped. I looked at my hands in shock. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Not ever. I looked back up. Everyone in the dojang was staring at me. I ran out of the room, barely stopping to put my shoes on. I sprinted back to the apartment and slammed the door, then locked it. I sat down on my bed and cautiously opened my fists. A drop of water as big as my fist appeared, hovering an inch above one palm. I willed it smaller, and it shank to the size of my thumb. I thought about a large droplet, and a drop the size of my head was hovering over my hand. I made it go away then. I collapsed back on my bed. Usually, when something happened that weirded me out, I would go and practice tae kwon do until I could concentrate, but that was not an option. There was one other place I could go, though. I took off my dobok and pulled on tights, a leotard, and shorts before grabbing my bag with my dance shoes.

I spent the rest of the morning dancing. When I came out, sweaty and exhausted, a woman with curly brown hair was standing at the door. Her eyes lit up some when she saw me.

"Excuse me, is Ann Sift in there?"

"I'm Ann," I said cautiously. She smiled, then pulled out a gun.

"Sorry about this," she said conversationally, then shot me. I felt something hit my neck, and I reached up and felt a dart. The woman smiled at me, and I glared at her before the world went black.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up strapped to a table. I pulled on the strap on my wrist, and it gave some. Satisfied that I could probably escape from the table, I looked around the room. It was all white, with no indication of a door or window. I twisted my arm around so my palm faced up and pulled up a drop of water. It came readily, and I smiled. These mortals wouldn't keep me for any longer than I chose. I would just have to bide my time and wait for someone to visit and open the door for me.

I didn't have to wait very long. Across from me, I heard some clanging, as though someone was sliding back a deadbolt. The humans probably thought they were being very stealthy, but my Asgardian senses could hear things no mortal could even dream of. Soon enough, the wall opened exactly where I thought it was, and the brown-haired woman stepped in. As I had hoped, they didn't bother to shut the door behind her.

"Sorry about the way we got you here," she said, in a clipped accent. "We had to think of some way to get you here."

"And where is here?" I asked, hoping it wasn't too far from New York and home.

"This is the headquarters of SHIELD. My name is Agent Carter."

"What exactly is SHIELD? And where are the headquarters?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. We're fairly close to New Y- You don't need to know that." I grinned, she had already told me enough. We were fairly close to New York, and from there, I could catch a plane to Ireland and start over. I had already sold all the jewelry to get money, so I had plenty of ready cash, so I wouldn't leave a trail.

"So who are you? Really?" Agent Carter asked.

"Ann Sift," I answered.

"You really expect me to believe that? Who sent you? Hydra?"

"Hydra?" I echoed, confused.

"Oh, never mind. How did you get the power to control water?"

"I don't know." I had some ideas, but I saw no reason to tell her.

"How long have you had the power?" She clearly didn't believe me.

"Just today."

"Now, really, Ann, there is no reason for you to lie." I was getting really tired of this Agent. I ripped my arms and legs free and, in the blink of an eye, had Agent Carter pinned on the floor. I smiled sweetly at her.

"First off, I'm not lying. Oh, except for my name. My name is Atla, of Asgard, and you would do well to remember not to meddle with Asgardians in the future." I slammed her head against the floor, only hard enough to knock her out, then ran through the door. Guards chased after me, but I sent fast jets of water behind me, and they were quickly hit against the wall and knocked out. Soon I made it out of their facility, and I saw the New York skyline in the distance. Perfect. First to my apartment, then to the airport to begin again. Again.


	6. Try This One?

\----------------------60 years later------------

"Ann, those Americans will be down for their breakfasts soon, love."

"Coming!" I called back to Kate. I dropped my water drop and jogged out my bedroom door to where Kate was waiting. She had taken me in at her bed and breakfast all those years ago. When I arrived at Dublin Airport, I asked a taxi to take me to a hotel. The driver laughed and told me that bed and breakfasts ruled in this country. He dropped me off at the newest B&B about an hour out of the city. When Kate, the owner, heard about my situation, she told me that I could work for her in exchange for a place to stay, meals, and a reasonable weekly pay. After the first twenty-five years, I had wondered why she didn't ask about my age. I asked her, only to find that she, too, was part Asgardian. She helped me learn to control my water power, and introduced me to a dance studio owner who was half-Asgardian. This way, I could continue dancing without any suspicion. Since Mary, the studio owner, was getting older, she let me take some lessons for free if I helped her with the younger classes. Some of my first students asked, when they came back for a visit, why I didn't age at all. I told them, with a slight smile like I was kidding, that I was a vampire who had earned the ability to go out in daylight.

"Ann?! Get your arse down here!" I shook off my thoughts and ran to the kitchens, where I snagged an apron and started getting things together for a proper Irish breakfast, with eggs easy-over, thick bacon, sausage, and grilled tomatoes. I also set some bread in a toaster so it would be ready before the rest, and Kate could bring it out while the tourists ate their cereal.

"The French couple will be here in fifteen minutes. You ought to get that ready before they hit the dining room and you have to get theirs." I nodded and soon had the Americans' food on plates and ready. Kate whisked them out, and I repeated the process for the French couple on holiday, a Spanish tour group, a pair of German newlyweds on honeymoon, and a Swiss family. Finally, everyone had eaten, and Kate cleaned the dining room while I cleaned the dishes and the kitchen. After that, the guest rooms needed cleaning. Soon, everything was done.

"Hey Kate, there's a street fair today in Malahide. Want to come with me?"

"Sorry, love, I need to stick around here today. Someone's coming to fix the roof around noon, and I need to be there."

"Aw, okay." I grabbed my wallet and started to walk out the back door when Kate called after me.

"Ann, would you mind taking Sherman with you? He needs a walk."

"Sure!" I whistled, and Kate's Irish Setter bounded over, his leash in his mouth. I put it on him and we headed out. It was a bit of a walk, but that was fine. It would help me clear my head. After a while, we hit the town. As the flier I had found promised, a lovely street fair was in progress. I wandered the lane for a while, and the vendors called out to me.

"Lovely Irish wool here!" "Handmade wire crafts!" "Handmade jewelry!"

The last call caught my attention. I popped my knuckles as I walked over, and the seller grinned at me.

"Have a look here, lovely pendants." He lifted one in particular and offered it to me. "Try this one?"

I looked at it, and my curiosity heightened. It was not like all the other pendants at this stand, all swirly Celtic knots sold to tourists. This was a symmetrical pattern, with points. It was lovely, and, almost without thinking, I reached out for it.

"How much?"

"For yourself, eight euros." I pulled out the money and handed it to him, then walked away a little. It was hung on a black cord with knots that allowed you to adjust the length. I loosened it, then pulled it over my head, pulling it tight to almost a choker. I cannot even begin to describe what happened next.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(3rd person)

The fair in Malahide was bustling with tourists and locals alike. The main difference was that locals were walking their dogs and glancing at the wares offered on either side, while tourists were taking pictures of each other, themselves, and the scenery, and 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing over every cheap bit of wool. Atla wove through, pulled by an excited pup. She paused at a jewelry stand and, after a few moments bought and put on a strange pendant.

Gone was the happy, loud peace. An explosion sounded around Atla, and, upon closer inspection, inside her. Her blue-black hair lifted up from her head as though she was under water, and red streaks shot through her hair as though shot from a cannon. Clear water, as she would not be surprised to see from her hands, exploded from one side, but bright flames sprang from her other side. Her eyes became completely icy blue, with no whites, and red shot through them.

The crowd was screaming, and fighting to get away from the young woman, but later, they would all say with a puzzled frown, that they hadn't been hurt at all. Soon the square was deserted. Atla collapsed on the ground, all her energy spent in the explosion. After a while, a man, dressed in a white undershirt and jeans, crept into the square. After a look around, he saw that no one was there to see, and he relaxed, allowing his silvery claws to retreat into his hands. He walked over to Atla and picked her up, then disappeared again into the air. A moment later, there was a sound of a jet taking off.

\------------------------------------------------------------

 

I woke with a start and sat up. The woman leaning over me startled as well and stood back a little.

"Where am I now?" I asked wearily.

"England. This is a safe spot that our leader has found. My name is Jean Gray."

"And what illustrious organization has picked me up this time?"

A new voice came from the door. "I have."

I looked over to see a bald man in a wheelchair. His dark eyes were very bright, and I had the feeling he could see everything.

"So who are you?"

"My name is Charles Xavier. Soon you will go to my school for gifted people. I help mutants like you, and-"

Behind Xavier's back I saw a man slouch in, a cigar between his lips, and he too looked at me with great interest.

"Uh, no. I will not go to your school for one very simple reason. I am not a mutant."

"It may be a little shocking to find out, but really-" Jean started, but I cut her off.

"I am most definitely not a mutant, for the very simple reason that I am not human."

"Oh honey, no matter what some people tell you, you're still human," Jean said patronizingly. I scowled.

"Will you fuckers let me finish? My name is Atla, of Asgard. So sorry, you don't get another mutant to join your little crew."

I looked around at the group. Jean looked slightly scandalized at my language, Xavier was unreadable, and the man in the back smirked.

After a moment, Xavier said, "I suppose we ought to take you to SHIELD now."

I scoffed. "I escaped from them sixty years ago."

"Haven't you heard about what happened in New York last year?"

"No."

The man in the back spoke up. "Their motley crew basically saved Earth from another Asgardian. I don't think you could get away from them now."

"Really?" This caught my attention. Another Asgardian had been to Earth? "Who?"

"It was something weird. Lucky, or something." He didn't seem very interested. The bottom of my stomach dropped.

"Loki?"

"Yes, if Logan would just tell you straight," Jean said, with a reproving look at him. Logan shrugged. I barely noticed. What in Odin's name had happened on Asgard while I was gone, that Loki had tried to take over? I slowly popped my knuckles as I thought. Jean frowned at me too, and I quickly stopped. I had already pissed her off some, I didn't really want to dig myself in deeper.

"Well, we may as well go back to the school. Atla, we will take you to SHIELD on the way," Xavier said. He didn't seem as bothered by Logan as Jean. "I'll call Anna, and then to the jet." He placed two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes. After a moment, a girl with black hair and ocean blue eyes ran in. She would almost look like me, but something was off about her. Her face was almost skeletal, making her eyes look even larger than they really were. And, of course, her hair didn't have the blue tint mine had acquired.

"We leaving now, Prof?" she asked. She had a clipped New Yorker's accent, and skipped several syllables. I blinked at her abrupt arrival. How had Xavier called her?

Jean helped me off the high medical table, then tossed some shorts and a shirt at me. I looked down and flushed. I had told Xavier off while wearing a sport bra and underwear. I hastily pulled on the clothes. We made an odd parade leaving the building as we walked out. As we went through the halls, we passed a mirror. I glanced over and stopped short. My blue-black hair now had bright, firey-red streaks running through. Anna bumped into me.

"Oi!" she said indignantly. I blinked.

"You bumped into me!"

"Well, you shouldn't stop like that!" I made a face at her, then turned around and marched on. Soon we were out of the sprawling building and in a driveway. A jet was parked outside, and as we approached, Jean made a gesture and a door opened, allowing us to walk in or, in Xavier's case, wheel in. As we came in, we startled a man sitting in the cockpit. He turned around, and presumably looked at us. You couldn't quite tell because he had red shiny glasses on so you couldn't see his eyes.

"Is this the new mutant?" he asked with a grin. He put out his hand. "I'm Scott Summers."

I took it. "Not a mutant, Asgardian, and I'm getting a little tired of you guys so can we just get back now?" Scott took his hand back and looked at Logan.

"I think we found another you."

Logan scoffed. "I would have told you to go-"

"Logan," Xavier said warningly.

We all sat and buckled in. I felt a humming as Scott started the engine and we took off.

After a while, I started to get bored. Anna happened to be the one sitting next to me.

"So what does everyone mean by mutant?" I asked her.

"We all have something weird about us, a power or something. Like, Prof is telepathic. That's how he called me in the building. Jean is a little telepathic, but mostly telekinetic. Scott shoots lasers from his eyes, that's why the glasses. Without them, he can't control it. Logan has a healing factor and these wicked claws."

"Claws?"

"Yeah, kid," Logan said from in front of us. One hand lifted behind the seat in a fist, and three metal claws sprang out.

"Damn. And what about you? How do you fit in this freak show?"

Anna grinned and lifted her hands. Her already abnormally long fingers grew to three times their length.

"Nice."

"That's not all," she replied. She began making motions in the air like she was plucking harps all around her. Soon things were zooming around the cabin.

"Anna, if you would please return the interior decoration to its prior state?" Xavier called from the front, where he was sitting with Jean nearby.

"Sorry, Prof." She made the motions again and everything zoomed back into place. Her fingers shrank again to their relatively normal size.

"How'd you end up in Ireland?"

I grimaced. "Running away from SHIELD."

"Hey, what's your thing? Why'd we get pulled out here?"

"Oh, that." I pulled up a small drop of water and Anna frowned a little.

"That's not enough to cause that kind of explosion."

"Explosion?"

"Yes, we were all wondering that," Xavier called. "What happened when you put on that necklace?"

I looked down. Around my neck was the pendant I had bought. It shifted a little, and I saw red underneath. I pulled it up and away from my skin and saw a dark, shiny burn mark, exactly in the shape of the metal. Anna stared.

"That does not look good."

"No shit," Logan said. He had twisted around to see my necklace.

"Logan." Xavier said.

"That reminds me, Logan, don't call me kid if you want to keep your head," I told him.

"How old are you, then?" He asked with a smirk.

"Older than you."

"Bet me."

"3,470."

"I don't remember how old I am. No one knows because I heal so fast."

"I doubt you're over three thousand years old, though."

"Probably not."

After a long silence, I heard Scott say in the cockpit, "SHIELD, this is the Blackbird requesting permission to land on the Helecarrier. We have someone named Atla who claims to be an Asgardian you captured 60 years ago." He listened for a moment before steering the jet down. I felt us land, but I couldn't see anything beneath us. Then, suddenly, jets of all kinds materialized, before a giant aircraft carrier appeared beneath them and us. In the middle of the sky. The jet door opened, and Xavier wheeled his chair out of the depression where it had stayed for the journey.

"Come along, Atla."

\------------------------------------------------------------

A/N All characters belong to Marvel except Atla and Anna.

Info on Anna: She is a character I made up as I was doodling. Her "hero" name is the Harpist. She can move things around because she can sense fine, golden threads above everything, so by manipulating the threads, she can move the object. She can also change the object itself, with limits.


	7. Is She Joining?

Logan got up and beckoned to me.

"Come on. Let's get this over with."

"Why are you coming?"

"I'm an Avenger." At my confused look, Logan sighed and explained, "Their crew of heroes call themselves the Avengers."

"Are you two coming?" Xavier called back to us. We hurried out of the jet. Almost as soon as we were out of the jet, a man landed in front of us with a slight thump, obviously just from one of the other jets. Xavier and I didn't move, but Logan startled, raising his fists up and letting his claws out. When he saw who it was, he relaxed some, but punched him on the arm after sheathing his claws.

"Watch it, birdbrain."

The man looked at him for a moment behind wraparound shades, before shrugging. "If you didn't startle so easily, I wouldn't do it. You make it too much fun." He turned to me. "You're the Asgardian?"

"What's it to you?"

"My name's Clint Barton. I'm one of the Avengers." He offered a hand.

I caught a glimpse of a quiver of arrows and a bow on his back. "So archery's your thing?"

"What's it to you?" he asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes and shook his hand.

"So where's everyone?"

"Inside," he said, leading us to a door. We walked in and saw a huge control room. Dozens of people were sitting at computers, and one man stood above them, looking over the group with a single eye. As we approached, he looked up at us. Clint walked to the wall behind him and leaned against it, watching us curiously.

"So she's the Asgardian?" he asked Xavier.

"She is."

"Has she told you about any powers?"

"A little."

I was getting tired of this. "Sorry, I'm Asgardian. Not invisible. Or deaf."

Clint winced from the wall.

The man looked over at me.

"Well then. Any powers?"

I set a water drop hovering above my hand. He looked unimpressed. I made it larger and larger until it was more like a column. Still he yawned. Finally, I sent the column blasting across the room, and the man was knocked against the wall next to Clint hard enough to knock the breath out of him.

Instantly, every person who had been sitting calmly at a computer was standing up, leveling a gun at my chest. From the opposite corner, I heard a slow clapping. I looked over to see a man in an expensive suit lounging in a doorframe, clapping with a smirk on his face.

"I like this girl. Hey Fury, is she joining? We need more chicks." I bristled, but the man I had blasted, clearly Fury, was already rising. He waved away the guns pointing at me.

"Yes, I believe so."

"I don't know. I'll have to see." Ignoring Fury, I turned to the newest arrival. "So who are you?"

He stumbled, faking hurt and shock. "Someone doesn't know me? The amazing Tony Stark? The great Iron Man?"

"Nope, sorry."

Logan chuckled. "About time something popped your airhead."

Tony's smirk dropped, and he started making his way towards Logan, who pushed past me. 

"Wait wait wait, guys, I need popcorn!" Clint shouted, running across the room and through the doorway Tony had been leaning against. He reappeared with a bag of popcorn, but the entire control room heard a screech from the door.

"Clint, I swear to God if you don't give me my popcorn back RIGHT NOW I will kick your ass into next week!" Clint rushed back through the door. A loud thwack echoed through the room, but he remained in the room.

Meanwhile, Logan and Tony seemed to be gearing up for a fight. I looked around for someone to stop them, but no one seemed interested in getting between the so-called heroes. Logan was slowly unsheathing his claws, making a show, but Tony was making some sort of gesture that looked like a cheap magician trying to make someone disappear. After a few tries, a humanoid shape assembled itself behind Logan. One arm reached out and a gauntlet tapped Logan on the shoulder. When the mutant turned around, he was met by a red metal fist. He staggered back a little, then headbutted the gold head squarely between its glowing blue eyes. It flew across the room and slammed against the wall, falling into parts. Tony made an outraged noise.

"Come on, furball, that was my latest!"

"You can build another. And besides, you have forty more at the tower."

I could not believe this. I made whips of water attached to my hands and slapped the two combatants across the face, allowing them to get soaked as well as forcing them apart.

"If this is how a team behaves, I think I'd be better off on my own."

Logan shook his head and upper body like a dog to rid himself of the dripping water, but Tony groaned.

"My hair! I have a board meeting in half an hour, Pepper's going to kill me!"

"You don't go to those anyway," Logan pointed out.

"Well you have ten minutes to get Atla introduced to the rest of the team," Fury said. He seemed much more appreciative of my power now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Had finals and was studying this weekend, and totally forgot to post until today.


	8. Meet the Team

Tony motioned to us to follow him into the room on the other side, but Logan shook his head.

"Xavier and I need to get back to the school, I'm sure Marie and Bobby are running rampant in the halls without us." He and Xavier went out the main door, and after a few moments, we heard the jet taking off.

"Well, come on. I need to go dry my hair and change suits," Tony said, motioning me forward impatiently. I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue at him like the mature Asgardian I am before marching ahead of him into the room.

It looked like a mixture of a conference room and the lounge Kate had in her B&B at home. To my left, a long table surrounded by official-looking chairs. The wall to my right was dominated by a flat screen TV with overstuffed chairs and couches scattered around it, creating a sitting area. A news channel blared from the TV, and I groaned as I recognized the center of Malahide. The area by the jewelry seller's stall was blocked off by caution tape, and I could see a massive crater where I had put on the necklace. It switched over to a phone-camera video of an explosion. At the center of it-was me. This side showed all water, but as the holder of the camera circled me, I saw with shock that the other side of me was exploding with fire.

Three people sat on the couch facing me, near the TV. I recognized Clint, sitting next to a redhaired woman and arguing fiercely over a bag of popcorn. Another man, blonde, tall, and familiar somehow, sat next to them, rolling his eyes at them.

"Honestly, Natasha, would it kill you to share?" he asked.

"It's my popcorn!" she replied, scowling at Clint, who had just snatched a handful out of the bag.

"If it were Poptarts, I would understand," another voice boomed from the other side of the room. I looked over to see-

"Thor?! What in Odin's name are you doing here?"

"Lady Atla!" He crossed the large room in three huge strides and grabbed me in a bearhug, then let go, looking at me guiltily. "I'm sorry, I forgot how you do not care for large hugs-"

"It's fine, I got over that ages ago. Thank Odin another Asgardian's here, I thought Loki was the only one these mortals had ever met!" Thor's eyes darkened at the name of his brother.

"Did no one tell you about Loki's parentage?"

"That he's a Jotun? No, I knew that ages ago." I explained what had happened the day before I left Asgard. Thor looked shocked.

"You knew and didn't tell anyone?"

"I believed it common knowledge," I muttered. Tony cleared his throat.

"Hate to intrude on the reunion, but there's more Avengers to meet. Over on the couch arguing with Hawkeye is Natasha Romanoff-"

"Wait, I thought his name was Clint?"

"We all have superhero names," he explained, rolling his eyes at my 'stupidity'. "Clint is Hawkeye, I'm Iron Man, and Natasha is also Black Widow. Basically, you piss her off, she kills you in twenty different ways. Thor- well, he's just Thor." Clint grabbed another handful of popcorn.

"Actually, Stark, it's more like fifty. It depends on my surroundings," she called over the couch back, punching Clint on the arm.

"Basically, don't piss her off. And jeez, Nat, that was my draw arm!"

The blonde man got up as the group was talking and made his way through the maze of chairs. He arrived beside me and extended his hand.

"Steve Rogers." I took his hand and shook. He had the feel of a man who, even with my Asgardian strength, could crush every bone in my hand without thinking twice.

"So what's your superhero name?"

He grimaced slightly. "Captain America."

"Oh, you I've heard of. I was in America in the war. How are you still, well, so young?"

"Long story."

"Oh, come on!" Tony complained. "You've heard of the Capsicle, but not me?"

"If you shut up now, I won't soak you again right now."

"Shutting up."

"It's a shame you didn't come a week ago," Steve said, ignoring Tony. "One of us is missing right now."

"Oh?"

"Dr. Banner. I think we'll let him introduce himself," Tony said, his eyes finding Steve's as they came to a silent agreement. I frowned.

"Where is he?"

"India, tying up a few loose ends before he moves in with us. He'll be back in a week."

I decided I was curious about this missing Avenger. Clearly Steve and Tony didn't agree about much, so if they agreed about him, I wanted to see this.

"So that's Earth's mightiest heroes," Tony said, starting towards a back door. "I'm going to go change before I have to buy Pepper those Manolos she was eyeing last week."

"No problem." I pulled the water off Tony's hair and suit, leaving him perfectly dry. I also reversed the water damage on the suit. I didn't really want to start off with the team by pissing off one of the major members. He didn't bother thanking me, but made that strange summoning gesture again. This time, the metal structure flew next to him before the back opened, and Tony stepped in. It closed again, and Tony flew out the main door.

"Now I see why they call him Iron Man."

"So what about you? What's your thing?" Steve asked. I pulled up a small water drop in the palm of my hand.

"That's neat, but what about that explosion?"

"I don't know. When I put on this necklace, I guess that's what happened." I pulled the necklace away from my neck to show Steve, and Natasha spotted the burn underneath.

"You better get that checked out," she said, leaving her popcorn to come next to me. Clint pounced on the abandoned bag, munching happily.

"I'll be fine, Asgardians heal fast. Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't healed yet."

"Then let's at least get some healing cream or something." I could see that the assasin wasn't going to let this go, so I let her pull me through the helecarrier to a room full of medical equipment. She went to a cabinet and started rummaging through, muttering to herself. Finally, she slammed the door shut, looking annoyed.

"It looks like Stark didn't put it back after he burned himself yesterday. I would suggest we go to his lab and find it, but no one but Banner and Stark can find anything in there. Sometimes not even them. We'll have to wait until he gets back from that meeting."

"Well, we can try. I have a knack for finding things."

"All right, but I'm blaming you if Stark catches us."

"I'll just threaten to soak him again." Natasha laughed and guided me through the halls. She paused before a door covered in warning stickers. "Just warning you, don't touch anything. I don't trust anything here. Tony likes to do drunk science." Before I could ask about her last remark, she pushed open the door.

It was, indeed, a mess. All kinds of expensive-looking scientific instruments were put away haphazardly around the room, and some sort of green goo was oozing across a table. Natasha made a face.

"At least when Banner was here, everything was clean. Even if only the two of them knew where everything was."

Suddenly a cool, impersonal voice issued from all around us. "Welcome, Ms. Romanoff. May I help you find something?"

"Oh, JARVIS." Natasha seemed relieved. "What did Stark do with the burn salve?"

"He used half of it, then left the rest open on the table there." The table with the goo lit up.

"Wonderful. It's definitely gone bad. Sorry, JARVIS, I forgot to introduce you. This is Atla, another Asgardian that's joining the team. Atla, this is JARVIS, an AI Tony created years ago to help him stay organized when Pepper can't. He put him in all his rooms, as well as in Stark Tower and his suits."

"Welcome, Ms. Atla. Is there anything else? Tony is ten minutes away, as Ms. Potts canceled the meeting, so you may approach him then."

"No, that's all, thanks."

"I live to serve."

"Come on," Natasha said. "We'll wait for that asshole and then we'll get Fury to get more burn salve."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Waves*


	9. Chapter 9

As JARVIS had said, Tony walked into the lab ten minutes later. He was still in the suit, but had taken the helmet off. Natasha was waiting for him.

"Good job, idiot. It's a good thing no one was hurt badly and really needed that burn salve. You know, it could have really helped a lot. But you had to tinker, didn't you. Just had to mess with things. Goddamn shit-for-brains."

"Hold up a sec, Nat. First off, if someone was severely burned, that salve wouldn't help a bit. Second, I was experimenting to see if I could make a version that would work faster but, I guess I forgot about it. Third, I don't understand Russian, so the-- I assume they're insults?-- don't really have the desired effect."

Natasha stalked out.

"Think we should warn Birdbrain?" Tony asked me.

"You mean Clint? I think he can handle himself. I'm going to go ask Fury for more salve, because Natasha won't leave me alone otherwise."

"Why do you need burn salve? I thought Asgardians could heal themselves."

I pulled the necklace away and showed him the burn. "We can, and usually this would have healed by now, but for some reason it's still here. I'll be fine by the end of the week."

"If it's not healed by then, we'll get you some salve, but Bruce and I were studying Thor, and you Asgardians heal so fast, you'll probably be fine tomorrow."

"Bruce?"

"That's Dr. Banner's first name. Natasha isn't fond of first names. I think it was beaten into her in Russia."

"Is that why you said she was swearing in Russian? Hmm."

"You couldn't tell?"

"Asgardians have Allspeak. We understand all languages and can be understood by anybody. Fun skill, but that means I can't tell if someone's speaking other languages."

"That does sound useful. Come on. We'll talk to Fury and then I'll show you to your room." I followed him out the room, waited while he talked to JARVIS, then walked beside him down the hall to the control room. Natasha was already there, arms crossed, speaking quickly and quietly to Fury. He looked over as we approached, cutting her off. 

"I hear you've let the burn salve go rancid again."

"Yup, so we need more."

"We won't be able to get more for a while, so you'll have to wait, Atla. Agent Romanoff, if you would show Atla to her room?" Natasha scowled, about to snap at either Tony or the Director, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. She motioned to me to follow her, and I did, not wanting to risk her wrath when she already seemed pretty ticked. We wound through a few halls before she stopped before a metal door identical to almost all the ones I had seen before, except that this one had a plate on it reading 'Atla'. I raised an eyebrow at Natasha.

"We keep a stock of plates like those and engrave them when we hear that someone's joining us," she explained. I pushed open the door and walked into a room, completely devoid of decoration. A couch sat in one corner, and a TV sat across from it. I saw a small kitchenette in an alcove across the room, with a table and a couple chairs nearby. I spotted a doorway and walked through to see a small bedroom with a closet full of my clothes, as well as plain black jumpsuits almost identical to the one Natasha was wearing. She motioned to a cell phone on the nightstand.

"If you want a real meal, call ahead and go to the dining room, they'll have it ready for you. There's snack food in the kitchenette. Usually we hang out in the lounge where you met us."

"Thanks. Is there a place I can practice and train?"

Natasha laughed. "Sure, but I don't think you'll want to train in that." I looked down at myself. The mutants had given me a purple shirt with the words 'Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters' emblazoned on the front, as well as what looked like bright yellow gym shorts with the school's logo on one corner.

"Um, not really. Mind waiting outside while I change?" Natasha smirked and walked out into the main room. I turned to the closet and began rummaging through. After a few minutes of searching, I found my tights, leotards, and dance shorts. I chose a purple leotard and blue shorts and pulled them on, found a hairtie, and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I put on my favorite boots with buckles on the sides. The combination looked a little strange, but the boots would be coming off as soon as I hit the training room. I spotted my dance bag on the floor of the closet and opened it, checking its contents. Ballet slippers, check. Tap shoes, character and low heel, check. Jazz shoes, check. Contemporary footies, check. Where are my pointe shoes? There they are, the mesh bag moved to the bottom. Oh, there are those shirts. And shorts. And socks. Is that a Clif bar? I need to clean this thing out. I zipped the bag shut and filled the water bottle in the outer pocket from the bathroom sink, then shouldered the bag and walked out of the room. Natasha was sitting on the couch, waiting for me.

"As soon as you get any clearance, I'm taking you shopping so you can spruce up your room. On Stark's dime, of course. Ready to go?"

"I'm ready." Natasha led me through the hallways, and I tried as hard as I could to memorize the way. I didn't want to have to ask every time I wanted to get somewhere. We ended up in a hall with only one door at the very end. We went through, and I almost staggered at the similarity to the Asgardian training room. Here, the higher-tech weapons were locked away in glass cases, and the spectator's gallery was enclosed for safety. Other than that, it was identical. In the center of the room, I saw Steve whirling and striking at invisible targets, holding a large circular shield. As he turned to jab at an enemy on our side, I saw that he had a pair of glasses on that seemed to be projecting enemies for him to fight. Natasha and I watched him for a while until the lights on the glasses turned off, and he pulled them off. He saw us and gave a brief salute.

"Welcome to the training room."

"Those are some interesting glasses you got there, Cap." He grinned and offered them to me. I held up a hand.

"I'll try them, but let me warm up first." I pulled off the boots and started to pull on my ballet slippers. Steve whistled a little.

"I thought it was your shoes making you seem that tall."

"No, all Asgardians are at least six feet. I'm about average, six-foot-six."

"Not on Earth. That is tall for a mortal," Natasha added.

"Anyway." I saw a barre on the opposite side of the room and smiled. Time to go back to routine. I walked over and started my usual warmup routine for ballet. Natasha grinned.

"We haven't had a dancer here for a while. Not since I came."

"Why is that here anyway? Dance doesn't seem like something you could use for battle," Steve said, frowning. I smirked.

"Natasha, is there any way I can play music in here?" Natasha grinned as she grasped my idea.

"Sure thing. What song do you need?"

"'Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera, if you have the orchestral version." I finished the warmups and pulled on my beautiful blue pointe shoes. Steve stared at the strange shape of the shoe. I did a few practice relevés and he looked confusedly at my feet.

"No problem," Natasha said, disappearing into a booth on the side.

"How are your feet not completely dead?" Steve asked, totally lost. I smirked.

"Practice, my dear, practice." I heard the haunting strains of the opening to the song and I let myself relax and took up my position. I hadn't done this routine in a while, but dances never really leave you. This one wasn't terribly flashy, but it was one of my favorites, dark and full of temptation, but still hopeful and with an undercurrent of sorrow. As usual, I lost myself in the music, letting my movements show every bit of the emotions the song made me feel, until the last chords played. Baleful. Haunting. Full of the Phantom's hope and nerves and, finally, contentment. I pulled myself into a new pose each chord until I was in a simple arabesque, looking longingly into the distance as the final chord sounded.

Applause from the doorway startled me, and I turned to see a new man in the door. He was tanned darker than the rest of the Avengers, relatively short with nowhere near the musculature Steve had, or even Tony, and he was dressed in a button-up shirt with good pants. A pair of wire frame glasses caught the light in his shirt pocket.

"Dr. Banner! We weren't expecting you to be back so soon!" Steve crossed the room and shook his hand.

"I wasn't expecting General Ross to show up in India, either," he replied. This must be the infamous Bruce Banner. "And who's this? Another of Tony's little friends?" He rolled his eyes.

"No, my name is Atla, of Asgard. You must be Dr. Banner." I crossed to him and I shook his hand.

Blurrily at first, and then clearly, a green creature appeared behind Natasha. She ran from it, careening underneath the familiar halls of the SHIELD helecarrier. Though she went as fast she could, the creature caught up to her and slammed her against a pillar. She sat there, dazed, for a while, but after a few minutes, she got up and ran to another level, where she saw Clint. He attacked her. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, and they were electric blue, not their normal brown.

"Atla, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I blinked, and the worried faces of Steve, Natasha, and Bruce appeared in front of me.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure. I sometimes get flashbacks of things that happened to me, but this is the second time I've seen something that wasn't in my past."

"What did you see? Both times."

"The first time was in Asgard, the day before I left. I met Loki, and talked to him for a little bit. Then I had a flashback to when Odin picked him up as a child and he changed his appearance to look like an Asgardian. This was before he knew himself, and before he decided to try to take over the Earth," I added, seeing their dark looks. "Just now, I saw you," I motioned to Natasha, "and some green thing. It didn't make any sense, though. At the end, Clint was attacking you, Natasha. I thought you were friends?"

Bruce's face, originally open and curious, turned stormy as I mentioned the green thing. Steve became sober, but Natasha's face shut down.

"That was a few years ago. Loki used mind control to make Clint his personal servant. I had to slam his head against metal to get Loki out."

"I need to go unpack," Bruce said abruptly and turned. "Nice to meet you, Atla," he called over his shoulder as he hurried out the door.

I watched him go with a frown, then turned to the other two Avengers. "What was that?"

"Come on, I think you're sufficiently warmed up to try these," Steve said, handing me the glasses and changing the subject.

I turned my frown on him for a moment, then sighed. "Let me get my pointe shoes off." I unlaced the ribbons on the shoes and pulled them off, stretching my feet out, then carefully set them next to their mesh bag. I pulled the lower part of the feet of the tights off and rolled up the legs to my knees. I accepted the glasses and put them on.

"What form of fighting are you practicing?" a cool voice asked.

"Tae kwon do."

Soon enemies were rushing towards me. I knocked them out with a few jabs and kicks. I hadn't fought like this for a while, but after about ten minutes of fighting, the enemies stopped, and SIMULATION COMPLETE flashed across my field of vision. I took off the glasses and saw Natasha and Steve staring at me again.

"What?"

Natasha started laughing. "I couldn't tell if you were fighting or dancing again. You fight well, but you're so graceful it looks like dancing."

Steve elbowed her. "You did very well."

"I'm going to check on Dr. Banner," Natasha said, sobering up. Steve nodded.

"What was up with him?" I asked Steve. He shook his head.

"He can tell you himself, if he chooses," he said. I grimaced.

"Even now, no one tells me anything."

"Sorry. We all know how that is, but Banner's a little touchy about his... issues."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I'm really terrible with schedules.


	10. I'll Show You!

As Tony had said, my burn was gone after a couple days. It was sore for a few more, but at the end of the week, everything was fine. I spent a lot of time either training with Natasha or wandering the halls, exploring. On one such expedition near the end of the week, I saw Tony, standing outside his lab door, looking ticked off.

"Bruce won't let me in the lab!" he exclaimed, as soon as I was in earshot. "He says it's something really important, so he won't let me in because I 'interrupt and make a mess'," and he rolled his eyes.

"You do have a bit of a reputation for explosions." Before Tony could reply, the door was thrown open, and Bruce appeared in the opening. His glasses were perched haphazardly on top of his hed, and his dress shirt was rumpled. It looked like he had been running his hands through his hair, as it was rumpled and curls stuck up all over. His eyes were alight with excitement.

"I finished! The cure for the common cold! I did it!"

"He's been working on this for twenty years," Tony told me, rolling his eyes.

"Come on! I'll show you!" He practically dragged Tony inside the lab and I followed, curious.

The lab looked much neater than when Natasha and I had come a week ago. All the expensive-looking equipment was carefully put away, and all the tables were gleaming. Only the one in the back had anything on it, a few tools and several strangely colored vials. Bruce led us here, and excitedly showed us how his cure killed off all the cold cells, even the most wildly mutated. Tony looked interested.

"How soon do you think you can get it in a pill form?"

"Probably another six months or so and I'll have a pill to test."

"Great."

The two then launched into a discussion so technical that I couldn't follow it. I started to back out of the room when I heard a SMASH. I looked over again and saw that Tony, in his excitement, had managed to knock over all the chemicals and mix them together. A poisonous-looking green goo crept closer and closer to the spilled orange cure.

"Uh oh," Tony said, and he ran to the other side of the room, flipped a table on its side, and took cover behind it. Bruce and I looked at each other, then I ran for the table, Bruce right behind me.

I had just managed to get behind it when a wave of energy exploded from the back table. I peered over the edge and saw that half the room was blown away, and everything that had been on the table, notes, chemicals, everything, had been blown to pieces. Bruce was lying facedown on the floor, fists clenched as spasms wracked his body. I ran to him.

"Bruce! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Get away from me!" he shouted, and looked up at me. His eyes were no longer their kind brown, but a bright green. He quickly faced the floor again as another spasm went through his body. I backed away and looked over my shoulder to Tony for help.

"Get out of here!" Bruce shouted again, but the last few words became deep and guttural. Another wave of pain ran through him, and he let out a roar. Bulging muscles rippled under green skin, and his head now brushed the ceiling. A green, humanoid figure stood in front of me. He clenched his fists and roared, sounding more animal than human now.

"So that's what the green thing was," I muttered to myself, dazed.

\------------------------Tony POV--------------------------

Fury was not going to be happy. I watched helplessly as my science bro turned into the Hulk, but Atla was still standing there, her back to me, not moving. Hulk took over completely, marked by the deep roar. Atla's fists clenched.

"No! You are not going to wreck the Helecarrier again!" I wondered briefly how she knew about New York, but then my jaw dropped as her hair crackled with sparks, and the tips lit on fire. The red streaks glowed like embers after a huge bonfire. She turned to me, and her normally icy blue eyes glowed a dark orange. She scowled at me (have you ever had someone with orange eyes and flaming hair scowl at you? It's not fun.) and turned back to the Hulk, who was looking at her with mingled curiosity and disgust. He gave voice to a dark, rich bellow, but instead of cowering back like any sensible person, she let loose a hair-raising scream and punched the air in front of her. Bright orange flames shot from her fists, enveloping the Hulk. It startled both me and him. He let out a startled yell that already sounded more like Bruce. As he changed back, Atla's hands dropped to her side and her hair stopped sparking. She swayed on the spot, then collapsed. Bruce barely managed to catch her before she hit the tile floor, and he picked her up. He looked to me.

"What the hell happened?"

"Not a clue. Let's find her room and let her sleep before Natasha finds us and kills us for knocking her out."

"Please tell me I didn't knock her out?" Bruce asked, looking down at the unconscious girl in concern.

"No, she got pissed off and punched flame at the other guy, and that probably took all her energy, so she passed out. How the hell did a water power get fire?"

"Don't ask me."

"Oh, that's right. You've been too busy avoiding her."

"I don't want to hurt her," he muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, now you don't have to worry about that. She seems to be able to handle herself."

Unfortunately, Natasha ran in at that moment, gun drawn.

"I heard the other guy, what the hell happened?" Her eyes traveled over Bruce, completely naked and holding a passed-out Atla before they jumped to me. "Stark, what did you do now?"

"It wasn't totally my fault!" I protested. She arched her eyebrow at me and holstered her pistol.

"Banner, get some pants on. Then I will find out what happened." Bruce looked down and flushed.

"I'll take her," Natasha said, relieving Bruce of the unconcious Asgardian, carefully looking away. "I'll put her in her room." She walked out. Bruce walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a medical gown.

"This'll work to get me to my room." He exited. I followed, out of boredom. After waiting outside his door for a while, he came out fully clothed, right as Natasha came around the corner from the wing where Atla's room was.

"Come on," she said, gesturing us to the lounge.

"I think we need an Avengers meeting on this one, once Atla wakes up. Maybe she'll have a clue what the hell just happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a safe and happy New Year everyone!


	11. If You Don't Believe Me, Come On

I woke in yet another strange room. I sat up carefully and looked around to try to get my bearings back. Steel walls lacking adornment. A small but comfortable bed. A closet with the door closed. Then it clicked: I was back in my room in the Helecarrier.

"Ah good, you're awake." I turned and saw Natasha lounging on a couch in the main room.

"This is the third time now I've woken up in a strange room."

Natasha shrugged. "It happens. I've lost count of how many times I woke up somewhere weird." She got up and stretched. "Come on, Stark called an Avengers meeting, and you're rather involved."

"What did I do now? I just remember- Oh. Yeah, let's go."

She gave me a strange look, then shook her head. I got up carefully and stretched, then started popping my knuckles. A flame flickered on the knuckle, then winked out.

"What the hell?" I stopped quickly.

"That was our reaction an hour ago."

"What?"

"I thought you said you remember?" Natasha shot me a quizzical look.

"I remember Bruce turning into some kind of green rage monster. What's that all about?"

Natasha sighed. "Come on. Well, you'd better change." I looked down at my shirt. It looked fine, until I twisted and saw tiny scorch marks and burnt holes peppering the back and shoulders.

"Geez. What'd I do this time?" I pulled shut the screen between the bedroom and main room and changed. I put on a leotard and tights underneath normal clothes, though. I had a feeling I'd want to dance for a while after this meeting. I pulled the screen aside and walked out to join Natasha. We then walked out and to the lounge. I saw, to my relief, that it was clearly informal enough that everyone was sprawled out on the couches, instead of sitting at the business table. I sat down briefly next to Clint, but then caught a brief glimpse of Natasha's face and quickly moved to sit by Steve. I wondered briefly what that was about, but discarded the thought as Fury strode in, coat flapping behind him.

"All right, let's get this going. What's so important, Stark?"

"We had a Hulkout in the lab about an hour and a half ago, but no permanent damage occurred, thanks to Atla here." He nodded to me.

"Me? What'd I do? And what do you mean, Hulkout? What's that even mean?"

Bruce, sitting next to Tony across from me, sighed. "Now we really have to tell you. I was a scientist trying to duplicate the serum used on him." He jerked his chin at Steve. "I thought gamma radiation might be the way. " A shadow passed over his face. "I was wrong. Now when my heart rate speeds up too much, I turn into the Hulk. The green thing," he added, seeing my look of confusion.

"Now, what happened?" Fury asked again.

"JARVIS, put the security footage from the lab on the TV," Tony said, and the TV flickered on. I watched the events unfold. Once again, that fire had erupted from me. What in Odin's name-

"Well, Atla? What happened?"

I swallowed. Everyone in the room was staring at me. Tony and Bruce were studying me like I was a specimen in their lab, while Clint and Natasha looked at me with detached curiosity. When Steve caught my eye, he smiled sympathetically. I cleared my throat.

"I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is that necklace."

"Necklace?" Bruce frowned, and Tony switched to the footage of the explosion in the street fair.

"I don't understand. Nothing I can think of can cause that."

"I don't know. Today was the first time I've ever used fire. I got the water power sixty years ago, and that's when SHIELD picked me up the first time." I grinned. "Carter didn't try that again."

Steve glanced up sharply. "You knew Peggy?"

"Oh, that's her first name? I thought it was Agent." Tony chuckled. Steve was not amused.

"You knew her?" he pressed.

"She shot me with a tranq dart, I slammed her head into the floor. I don't think I could claim to know her. To be honest, she pissed me off. It was a pretty easy escape."

"You would find it much more difficult now. We were weak then, newly formed," Fury said, his eye resting on me as though daring me to try again. I put up my hands.

"Wasn't planning on trying, Cyclops."

Tony outright laughed. "We are definitely keeping you."

Thor spoke up then. "May I see the necklace, Lady Atla?" I loosened the knots and took it off, then chucked it across the room to him. He caught it easily and examined it.

"This is dwarvenmake. I would recognize the style anywhere. How did it get onto Midgard?"

"Dwarves?" Fury asked. It was clear he really did not appreciate not knowing everything.

"Yes, they are very skilled craftsmen, and women. They made my hammer, as well as many weapons we cannot build ourselves."

"If it's Asgardian, how did it get here?"

"Thor just asked that," Tony put in, and Fury scowled at him.

"Are these dwarves a threat to us, Thor?" Fury asked.

"I do not believe so. They keep to their home, Nidavellir."

"Could they have put the fire power into the necklace?"

"We all heard stories as children about heroes who have earned jewelry or the like from dwarves and found that they bestowed elemental control on the wearer."

"Clearly those stories didn't make it to Jotunheim," I grimaced.

Bruce butted in then. "If Atla doesn't object, I would like to run some tests, see how powerful she is-"

"SHE is standing right here," I said pointedly.

"Sorry, how powerful YOU are, and how well you can control those powers."

I nervously popped my knuckles, and flickers of fire spurted from each as they popped.

"Not well, I'm afraid. But I don't mind."

"Is that all? Dr Banner, try to keep anything like that from happening again," Fury said, moving towards the door.

"What? The other guy coming out or Atla going torch?"

"Yes." And he walked out.

"Well, he certainly knows how to make an exit. I'm going to go dance."

"Wait for me," Natasha said, climbing up off the couch. Bruce, Tony and Steve stared at her.

"Really? You dance too?" I asked.

"Yes, but I've been too busy to dance when you're here, and it's really no fun alone."

"Well, hurry up. Do you need to go back to your room?"

"No, my stuff is in the practice room."

Tony and Steve were still staring at her.

"You dance?" Bruce asked, dumbfounded.

"If you don't believe me, come on," she said impatiently. I knew the feeling. At one point I twisted an ankle at my old studio in America, and I had to stay away from the studio for a month so no one would be suspicious of how quickly I healed. By the end of the month, I was snapping at anyone who came within three feet of me.

"I've got to see this. The master assassin dances ballet?" Tony said, scrambling to his feet. The others quickly followed as Natasha and I strode out of the room.

We came to the training room, and Tony started towards the stairs to the spectator's balcony when Steve shook his head.

"I saw Atla dance the first day she came. You'll want to be down here."

Tony backed away, and the four males arranged themselves in front of us, against the wall.

I snorted. "We do have to warm up first. Nat?"

She nodded and went to a changing room. I heard Steve squeak a little as I grabbed the bottom of my top and pulled it over my head to show my leotard. When it was clear of my eyes, I saw Steve standing there, beetred. Bruce was similarly colored, but Clint was coolly looking the other way and Tony had an expression of mock disappointment.

"What? You didn't think I was going to strip in front of you, did you?" Steve and Bruce turned even darker, and I could detect a hint of a blush on Clint's cheeks. Tony shrugged.

"A guy can hope." I opened my mouth to retort, but Natasha came out then, in a dark red leotard with black shorts. I looked down at my black leotard and red shorts and laughed.

"I don't remember coordinating outfits, Nat!"

She grinned. "You ready?"


	12. I Speak Fluent Ballet

Natasha and I finished our warmups, then sat down on the floor to put on our pointe shoes. As I was lacing the ribbons, Natasha turned her head and said, "I forgot to ask, where did you get those shoes?"

"They were literally the only pair at the shop I go to in my size. One problem with being six-six is that I wear a size thirteen."

Natasha whistled slightly and tucked the ends of her ribbons. "Damn."

We finished, and did a few practice relevés before Natasha grinned over at me. 

"Your choice on song. I'll figure something out." She gestured to the sound booth. I headed over and saw a computer, filled with music. I found "He's a Pirate", one I had done a few years ago, and clicked on it, then rushed out of the booth and took up my position a second before the song started. No introduction on this song, just a beginning. I followed the routine at first, with sweeping movements and care not to leave my small safe zone. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Natasha watching me closely. I nodded to her, and at the next pause in the music, held a simple pose. Natasha took over then, dancing in the beautiful style only someone trained in Russia, by Russians, could completely pull off. The French may have invented ballet, but the Russians were the ones who turned it into an art form. After a minute, she glanced at me and grinned, and paused at the next break in the music. I took over then, veering from the routine I knew to show off a little. I noticed, with delight, that this music was looping: we wouldn't stop until we chose to, not dictated by the music. I gave her a challenging glance and stopped, allowing her to show off. We continued like this for nearly ten minutes, when finally she shook her head and motioned to one of the guys to stop the music. I stayed in my pose and Natasha pulled up into an ecarté, one arm raised and a toe pointed out, and we waited for the end of the music.

It didn't come. After a moment I allowed myself to drop the arabesque and look at the four men. They were staring, at us, not moving. I coughed, and Clint shook himself and went to turn off the music.

"Oh-" Steve started.

"My-"

"God," Bruce finished. "That was incredible!"

Natasha shrugged. "I'm a little out of practice, actually."

"Yeah, I saw a bit of a wobble on the contra-tónt."

"Did you mean to do the fall after the glissàde?"

"Not really. I could tell that as soon as I leaped that I wouldn't be able to land it, so I did the nice fall."

Tony looked between us, lost. "Are you speaking English?"

"Nope," we replied together, and grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I am terrible with schedules. This is a short chapter that I wanted to have on its own, and I will try to get another chapter up before this Friday to make up for it. But hey, dance!


	13. You Have Homework

I settled into a comfortable routine in the SHIELD helecarrier. In the mornings, I trained to use my fire and water powers, as well as refining some dance skills that had started to get rusty. Natasha was a hell of an instructor, barking orders and physically moving my legs into the positions she wanted them as she taught me the Russian methods. Then after lunch, I would spend a few hours with Bruce, learning to control my temper so I wouldn't explode in fire when I got pissed off. When he first offered, I made a sarcastic remark about yoga, and he informed me, with a long-suffering look, that he was, in fact, a certified yoga instructor. That shut me up. I also trained, on my own or with a sympathetic Clint, to project my flashbacks to others. Thor found me some books on Asgardian families (I didn't ask where he got them) and I discovered that my family had a history of mindseeing, but the authors speculated that the talent had been lost. Several months passed, and I grew more confident in my power, as well as with the other Avengers.

Logan came at least once a week for various meetings and arrangements. At the latest of these meetings, he was very clearly distracted by something. He kept zoning out and often had to be called several times before he would pay any attention to the meeting, and finally Fury sighed.

"Clearly we're not going to be productive today. Go on, get out."

Logan nodded and, slinging his leather jacket over his shoulder, strode out of the room. I slipped out after him, curious about his distraction.

He strode confidently down the corridor a few paces, then stopped short. I tucked myself against the walls, trying to keep out of sight.

"What do you want, Atla?" Logan asked, not looking around. I sighed and walked up to stand beside him.

"How did you know?" He tapped his nose and grinned a little, though his eyes were slighty out of focus.

"What do you want?" he repeated, a little impatiently.

"What's on your mind? You don't usually pay a whole lot of attention during those meetings, but I would be surprised if you heard a single word of what happened today."

"It's nothing," he said, trying to shrug it off, but his mouth tightened, betraying him. I sighed and dragged him down the other way to my room. If he had wanted to, he could have easily pulled away, but he let me pull him down the hall and shove him into a chair in my room.

"Now explain," I told him, sitting down on the sofa opposite.

"I'm not sure I can. I'm not even sure I know what happened. But at this point originally, almost all mutants and humans are dead, killed by robots called Sentinels who tracked down any mutant tendencies. I was sent back to stop the creation of the Sentinels in the 1970s, and succeeded. I am the only one who remembers the original timeline. So many were dead, that are now happily teaching at the Professor's school." He looked rather incredulous. "I'm teaching history now."

I listened, and nodded sympathetically. "I do know what it's like to know things no one else does. Not even Thor or Odin knows the true cruelty of the Jotuns." My lips tightened. "They could never know the way I do."

Logan looked up at me, his dark eyes meeting mine.

Logan sitting in the middle of a room, Jean spread out in his arms. Her eyes were a strange orange, and they didn't blink at all as they exchanged a few words I couldn't make out. Then out of nowhere, Logan speared her on his claws, and as the breath left her body, he threw his head back to the sky and let out an animalistic yell of anguish.

I blinked several times, then focused when I saw Logan looking at me with no small concern.

"What was that?"

"Always at the wrong times," I muttered to myself, digging my fingers into my hair.

"What happened?"

"What happened to Jean in the other timeline?" I asked, wanting to be sure it was the past.

He scowled at me. "I asked first."

I folded my arms. "Too bad. Spill."

He explained what I hoped I had already known, but explained why. His eyes, usually hard and mocking, softened with raw emotion as he told me about Jean becoming Phoenix, and they were desolate when he spoke about having to kill Jean. Impulsively, I stood, walked around him, and wrapped my arms around him. He stiffened, but I kept my arms around him until he stood up abruptly and stalked out of the room. He paused briefly at the door and looked back at me. He had a rather strange expression on his face, as though he were battling internally until he stood as straight as his rather short frame allowed and continued out of the room. I stayed where I was for a moment in shock, amazed at myself. What in Odin's name had possessed me to try to hug him?

\---------------------------------------------Logan POV------------------------------------------

"Logan? LOGAN!" My head snapped up, and I saw the door open on the Blackbird waiting outside on the runway. Jean appeared in the doorway, and I braced myself for the usual pull in my gut towards her, but it didn't come.

"C'mon, Logan, the Professor's been calling you for ages," she said, scowling slightly.

"What happened in there? You're troubled." I shook my head, and, when I got in the jet, I scowled a little at the Professor.

"Stay out of my head. I've told you, it won't help."

"My apologies. I was trying to reach you, and some rather strange emotions were nearly throwing themselves at me. If I could stand, they would have knocked me off my feet." His keen eyes met mine, and I looked away hastily. If I hadn't worked out what had just happened with Atla myself, I sure as hell wasn't letting him work it out first.

\--------------------------------------Atla POV---------------------------------------------------

"You're telling me that we are all basically legends here on Earth?" I asked Thor in disbelief.

"I had a hard time with that myself when I first came here," he replied, grinning at me.

Tony threw a huge book at my chest, and I barely caught it before it thumped me. I glared at him, but he grinned back at me.

"What's this?" I asked, hefting the book. I turned it over, and on the cover, in silver embossed lettering, was "Norse Legends and Mythology".

"Book of legends. Help you wrap your head around this."

"The inaccuracies are also greatly amusing. For example, the one with Sif and me."

"You have homework," Tony added with a grin.

"Homework?" I glanced at Thor and was relieved to see that he was just as befuddled as I was.

"Oh, never mind."

The book turned out to be very interesting, though Thor was right about the mistakes. I was rather dismayed to see that I had barely a word in the list of gods and goddesses. I finished the book in a week, and enlisted JARVIS to help me find more cultures' mythologies.

"ATLA!" Tony burst into my room, and I looked up from Odyssey in curiosity.

"What's wrong?"

"Why have I been billed for several thousand dollars' worth of mythological-" He stopped short as he looked around my room, and the teetering piles of books surrounding me.

"I created a monster. JARVIS, order half a dozen sturdy bookcases."

"That reminds me, does Thor have an alternate name? Like you guys do?"

"No, he's just Thor. Why?"

I marked my spot and set down my current book, then began searching the piles for the book of the Greek characters. I finally located it, thankfully on top of one of the stacks, and pulled it down, then opened it and quickly found the page I was looking for.

"Check this out." Tony navigated through the books and came beside me to look over my shoulder, or rather, around my arm. I was rather too tall for him to look over.

"Janus? What about him?"

"I was thinking that would be a cool name for me. You know, the way I work with fire and water. You usually don't think one person could be both, but I am. So maybe that would work for me."

Tony thought it over, then nodded. "Our names are more of a formality now, Thor came after most of us stopped using secret identities. But if you want, go for it."

I grinned. "Janus it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on getting back on schedule with this mess. I will post again tomorrow or possibly Saturday, but I will keep going! Thank you to the users who gave kudos, it really made my day to open my email and see that :)


	14. You Leave Him Alone!

"Lady Atla? May I come in?" Thor knocked on the door. I looked up from my Egyptian myths book.

"Come in," I called, marking my spot with a scrap of paper, and setting the book down. He entered, stooping slightly to clear the door.

"Man of Iron tells me that you have chosen a second name for yourself."

"Yes, Janus. Would you like to see who that is?" He nodded, and I went to my stacks of books and found the book of Grecian characters, then opened it to the proper page and handed it to him.

"This is a male name!"

"Not anymore," I said proudly. Thor handed the book back to me, and I put it back. When I turned back to him, he had his hands behind his back and was shuffling awkwardly.

"What is it, Thor?" He looked up from his feet.

"What do you mean?"

"Something's bothering you. Spit it out."

He looked puzzled. "I have nothing in my mouth to spit out."

"I mean, tell me what's wrong."

"May I sit first?"

When I nodded, he walked over to the chair opposite my favorite reading chair and sat down. As soon as he sat, he looked surprised.

"This chair actually fits me!"

"I had all my furniture custom made for people our size. I got tired of having to fold up my legs under my chair when I wanted to read."

"I wonder that I never thought of that. I shall talk to Man of Iron about having that done for my room."

I blinked, then focused and looked sternly at Thor. "You're stalling. What's wrong?"

"Back in Agard, you refused to fight, and that's why Sif tricked you into coming here. Why are you learning to fight now?"

My lips tightened. "It's a long story."

"I insist." Thor folded his arms and sat back in the chair. I sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to budge.

"Well, I started tae kwon do when I first landed in Midgard, seventy years ago." I stopped there, hoping he wouldn't press.

"Why though? What happened to change your mind?"

"No," I muttered to myself, feeling the familiar headache. I pushed it aside, fighting to stay in the moment. I focused on Thor's face.

"What did you say?" Thor asked, but at the end, it merged into a sneering tone, and I succumbed to the flashback, managing projecting it to the room. Only Thor was in the room, so only he would know.

"What did you say?" the bully asked again, taking a menacing step forwards. I chanced a glance behind him to where the scrawny blond boy was struggling to his feet, blood pouring from his nose.

"I said, leave him alone. What did he do to you anyways, besides tell you to do what you should know to do?" I really shouldn't have stepped in, being so new to Midgard, but if there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was a bully.

"I thought that was what you said. But you know something? Sure, he didn't do anything to me, but the runt should learn to keep his mouth shut." On the last word, he swiveled and gave the boy a kick to the stomach, buckling him.

"You leave him ALONE!" And I jumped onto his back.

Dumb idea. As soon as I hit his back, he threw me over his shoulders so I landed right beside the other kid. He set on me, punching and kicking anything he could reach. I instinctively curled into a small ball, protecting my head with my hands. I felt the bones in my hand crunch as a particularly fierce kick landed.

Suddenly the attack ceased, and I looked up to see a darker boy in an Army uniform with a deathgrip on the bully's collar.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to hit a girl?" the newcomer asked, as he threw him off to the side.

"Watch it, girl," the defeated bully sneered, as he slunk down the alley. 'Your knight in tan armor won't always be there for you."

"Why do I always have to rescue you?" the newcomer asked, as he hauled the skinny kid up. He looked a little embarrassed.

"Thanks." Our rescuer then turned to me and started to grab my broken hand, but I let out a yelp of pain.

"What's wrong?"

"I think he broke my hand," I said, and the smaller kid looked murderous.

"I'll kill him!" he cried and turned to follow the bully, but the other grabbed his arm.

"He already almost killed you. Why do you pick these fights?"

"I don't like bullies, or people who talk in theaters."

The larger carefully grabbed my other hand and pulled me up. "We've got to get you to a hospital, get your hand looked at-"

"No! I'll be fine." I could already feel the bones knitting together again. I quickly hid my hand in my skirt.

"Bucky, we really should be going," the smaller said, but Bucky shook his head.

"I'm not leaving."

I shook my head, clearing the memory from my eyes and dispelling it from the room. "That's why I decided to learn tae kwon do. It seemed like the best option to learn to defend myself."

"Captain, what is it?" Thor asked, looking behind me. I turned to see Steve in the doorway, completely shocked. My eyes widened as I noticed the bright blond hair, blue eyes, and a nose like the prow of a ship, finally connecting the dots.

"You were the boy in the alley!"

"You were the girl in the alley! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't realize that was you! I thought you looked familiar, but I didn't make the connection until now!"

"No wonder you looked so familiar! You didn't have the blue or red then, though."

"That's because I got the water power and blue several years after that, and only this year got the fire power and the red." I tilted my head, then started laughing. "You know, I went to one of the Captain America shows."

Steve groaned. "Oh no..."

I grinned, and started singing.

"'Who's strong and brave, here to save the American Way?'"

"Oh please, no," Steve moaned.

"'Who vows to fight like a man for what's right night and day?'"

"Seriously?"

"'Who will campaign door-to-door for America,'"

"God, I forgot that line."

"'Carry the flag shore to shore for America,'"

"Dammit, Atla."

"'From Hoboken to Spokane,'"

"Or the Arctic."

"Who?" Thor asked, completely lost.

I grinned wickedly, and finished, with a flourish, "'The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan!'"

Steve put his head in his hands. "I hoped everyone had forgotten."

"Nope."

"Will you ever let me forget?"

"No way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back on track! Thanks for your patience, I know these chapters are kinda filler, but they're still some fun shit to write XD


	15. Caw Caw!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! Hope everything is going well in your life. Enjoy some... interesting shenanigans ahaha

After we had recovered from "The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan", Steve said, "That had to be one of the strangest things I've ever seen. I walked into your room, and your memory!"

"I've been working on that. Natasha mentioned that it was kinda scary for others when my eyes go blank and I go all stiff, and Clint thought it might be helpful for me to show others what I saw. He's been pretty helpful about this."

"Because I was curious about Asgard," Clint said from the door.

"Geez! Why is my room suddenly Avenger Central?"

"I came because I was wondering if you wanted to practice more today. I see you already have, so I'm going to go shoot things." And he left again.

"That was strange," I said, looking at the doorway where he had made his exit.

"He's strange," Steve said, shrugging.

"But then, 'we're all mad here'," I grinned. The two stared at me.

"I get the feeling that I need to add more to my list of things to catch up on," Steve said, pulling out a small notebook.

"'Alice in Wonderland', both versions," I told him.

"Got it."

"Who's Alice?" Thor asked.

"Never mind. So why did you come in the first place, Steve?" I asked.

He gave his head a little shake. "Logan's here asking about you. Apparently Xavier wants to talk to you. Why he couldn't come himself is beyond me, but Logan just growls if you ask for any details."

"Okay then." I got up and headed for the door, but Steve grabbed my arm.

"Be careful. There's a reason he's called the Savage Wolverine."

I pulled away, remembering the vision I had had of him and Jean. "He's just been hurt too many times. I'll be fine."

He looked skeptical, but said, "He's waiting in the lounge."

I nodded and headed out. As I walked through the door of the lounge, I said, "Okay, Logan, what's-"

"Shhh!" I looked around, and Logan pointed towards Tony, who was happily taking video of Clint perched on the back of the sofa, fast asleep.

"How did he fall asleep that fast? And what in Odin's name is he doing?" I navigated the maze of chairs to stand beside Tony.

"He takes the 'Hawk' part of his name very seriously," Tony said, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

"So he falls asleep like a bird?"

"Apparently."

Suddenly, Clint straightened up, opened his eyes, and screeched, "CAW CAW, MOTHAFUCKER!"

Tony yelped and started scrambling for the door, but stopped short when Clint started laughing.

"You didn't think I actually slept like that, did you?"

Logan got up from where he had fallen, cursing as his claws retracted. "Try that again, and you'll really be flying."

"I would welcome the chance to fly with my winged brethren," Clint replied with a completely straight face. Logan stared at him for a moment, then scowled as Clint started laughing again.

"Now then, birdbrain, I need to talk to Atla."

Clint took a second to stop laughing, but he dragged a loudly complaining Tony out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

"What's up?" I asked, as soon as they were out of earshot. He started to reply, then stopped. Silent as a cat, he stalked over to the door, paused for a moment, then yanked the door open. Tony fell in a heap on the floor, with Clint following not long after. Swearing blue, Clint pulled himself to his feet. 

"I told you it wouldn't work, metalhead."

"You told me?! Who's the genius here?" Tony scrambled up.

They continued arguing, until I could feel the heat building in my eyes. I controlled myself with an effort.

"Guys, stop arguing. Now." They paid no mind.

"That. Is. Enough." Sparks snapped in my hair, which is when they finally turned to look at me and hastily scrambled out the door. Logan cautiously stepped up beside me and touched my shoulder, but quickly stepped back swearing as sparks jumped to his hand. I controlled myself, until I could feel my hair returning to normal and the heat dissapating. To be completely sure, I walked over to a houseplant nearby and allowed just a trickle of water be released from my palm. 

"Why the water?" Logan asked, following.

"I've found that I can't use water if I'm mad enough to use fire. I have to calm down completely, which makes a pretty good indicator of how mad I am."

"Hmm."

"Now that those two are gone-they are gone, right?" He nodded, and I continued, "What is it?"

"I was wondering if, maybe, you'd like to go see a movie or something?" He looked away as he spoke.

I considered. Logan seemed tough but, really, what I told Steve was true. Maybe if someone tried to help him, instead of just seeing him as savage, he was really just a big softie.

"Sounds good."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Never mind. So, I'll be picking you up around 8 tomorrow?"

"How?"

"The Professor generally trusts me with the Blackbird."

"All right, see you then." I hesitated for a second, then reached out and hugged him again. He still remained stiff, but he didn't pull away. I quickly let go and walked out before he could see my burning cheeks.


	16. Come Shop Away With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Hope your week went well, and see you next week!

I wandered the halls for a while before I went to my room to read some and calm down. In the seventy years I had been on Earth I had never been on a date. Not that Kate hadn't tried. The bed-and-breakfast owner had tried several times to set me up with one or another of her vast network of friends in Malahide, but somehow it had never worked out. One of her friends would come over for dinner and would just happen to bring along a son. "He's home from Trinity for summer. He's learnin' to be a doctor," his mother would say, winking broadly at me. "Mum!" he would say, usually completely mortified. "I don't need a girlfriend!" We would end up talking, but it wouldn't pan out, and they would leave fairly quickly.

"Now why don't you give them a chance?" Kate asked every time. "I do. They don't give me a chance. I don't mind being single, Kate, really." She would shake her head at that, and a few weeks later, another of her friends would just so happen to show up, unwilling son in tow. Dating apps yielded no better results, and Odin's beard, were there a lot of awful men in the world. Especially on Tinder or whatever app Kate convinced me to try that month.

This was completely different. No pushy mom had dragged Logan along to ask me out, or set us up. He had just... asked. Admittedly, a little out of the blue and probably a little shaken up by the whole "mind-seeing" thing that I had just had, but still by his own volition. I knew from experience that he wasn't a "send nudes" type, or a "wats up ;)" type. But was he mine? Something in me at least wanted me to try.

"Why do I miss all the fun stuff?" Startled out of my reverie, I looked up to see Nat in the doorway, scowling. She was still in her catsuit that she wore for missions.

"What was it this time?"

"Essentially bodyguard duty. They needed an escort for somebody important, I don't remember his name. Nothing near as exciting as what I hear happened to you, though. Spill." She plopped down on the couch, folding her arms stubbornly.

"Well, Logan came today-"

"Yeah, I heard that. Go back. What'd you do with the whole flashback thing?"

"This." I sat for a moment, concentrating on the memory, then projected it out to Natasha.

"Damn. You knew the Cap before he was the Cap?"

"Yep. Didn't even know it was him until he walked into my room in the middle and saw the memory too."

"Sonuvabitch." She sat for a moment, then focused quickly on the second item.

"So what happened with Logan? I doubt it was anything to do with Professor X."

"No. Well, first I walked in the lounge to see Clint pretending to be asleep perched on the back of the couch."

"Oh boy. Let me guess, you all fell for it."

"Hook, line, and sinker."

"And after he scared you out of your wits?"

"Logan chased him and Tony out, and asked me out."

"No shit. He asked you out? Where, when, what are you doing? Details. Now."

"We're going to a movie, and he's picking me up at eight tomorrow." I cocked my head. "Why?"

"That's just enough time," she muttered to herself.

"Time for what?"

"To get you ready, dumbass." She stood up, pulled me out of my room, then stopped abruptly. "I'm going to get changed, and then we're going shopping."

"Okay."

As she went down the hall, I heard her scream, "STARK!"

I withdrew to my room, completely bewildered. Why did we have to go shopping? We were just going to a movie, nothing special. I went to my closet and looked through, noting as I did a general lack of anything except catsuits, jeans, and t-shirts, as well as my dancewear. Was there something wrong with jeans and a t-shirt?

"Yes, there is," Natasha said from the door. "You really need to learn to think in your head."

"Was I projecting?"

"No, you were talking. Now come on, Stark's letting us use his car and credit card when we hit the ground." I grabbed a coat and she pulled me out the door. We passed the lab on our way out, and Bruce stuck his head out and called, "Where are you guys going?"

"Atla needs clothes for a date!" And I was whisked around the corner and into the control room.

"And where are you two running off to?" Fury asked, giving me a strange look.

"We're going shopping!" Natasha declared. Before she could say any more, I asked, "Is it all right if I have off tomorrow night? I made plans."

"With Logan?" he smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, with Logan."

"Fine," he said, his dark eyes sparkling knowingly. "Romanoff, take your usual. Agent Barton is in the shooting range."

"Yes, sir." And we were released. We found Clint exactly where Fury said he would be: honing his already formidable skills with a bow. Nat managed to separate him from his bow to take us to... well, wherever we were going.

As we walked out onto the runway, I asked, "So where exactly are we going?"

"We're fairly close to New York, so to the Manhattan Mall," she replied as we strapped ourselves in. Clint looked back, and Nat gave him the thumbs up to take us out. We left the Helecarrier, going down and, as Clint got permission to land at the SHIELD base, Nat asked, "So what are we looking for?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, what are you doing? Just the movie, or dinner too?"

"Just the movie."

Natasha looked thoughtful. "Well, probably you could get away with a cute sweater and dark jeans. Definitely flats. Any particular colors?"

"I dunno. I've been told that I look pretty good in fuschia."

"I can see that." We landed and Natasha told Clint, "You can go back, or-"

"Why don't you come with us?" I broke in quickly. Why should she have all the matchmaking fun? "I could use the male view point."

He shrugged. "Fine with me."

As we left the runway, a bright red Ferrari pulled up to the pickup area, and a rather portly man stuck his head out the driver side. "Ah, Ms Romanoff. Good to see you again."

"Good to see you, Hap. I'm guessing Tony let you know we were coming?"

"Yep. Who's this?"

"Clint Barton," Clint said, nodding a little brusquely.

"And I'm Atla."

"Happy Hogan. So what's the deal?"

"We're going shopping. Can you get us to Manhattan Mall?"

"I think I can manage that. Hop in." The passenger and back doors opened, and we climbed in. I made sure to get in the front, leaving Nat and Clint in the back. As soon as we were in, he took off, and we made our way through New York traffic.

"Man, it's different than I remember," I said, staring as we passed through. People, even more than I remembered, flooded the streets. Cars of all shapes and sizes crushed through the streets, honking and swearing. A store started on one corner of a block and stretched all the way down to the next street. 

"I should hope so. It's been, what, sixty years since you were here?"

Happy raised his eyebrows. "You look pretty damn good for at least seventy."

"Asgardian. It's a long story."

He shook his head as we pulled up in front of another huge store.

"Here we are. Give me a ring when you want me to pick you up."

"Thanks, Hap." We all piled out, and Hap sped away.

\------------------------Three hours later-----------------------------

"Okay, so there's the main outfit taken care of," Natasha said, handing over the credit card to the cashier. "Ready to get shoes?"

I sagged a little. "Actually, I'm famished. Let's find the foodcourt." Clint nodded in fervent agreement.

"Fine. You guys are such wimps."

"We are sensible," I shot back.

"How long has it been since you really went shopping?" Natasha asked.

"I once spent an hour trying on leotards," I offered.

Nat rolled her eyes, and I collected my bags and we walked out.

"What are you interested in?" I asked.

"I hear there's a new burger place that I want to check out." Clint said.

"Hey, Natasha, why don't you guys go get burgers? I just want some stirfry." And I quickly walked away before she could object. I had thought to bring enough money for my clothes, as it hadn't originally occured to me that Tony would let us use his credit card, so I bought myself some stirfry and setlled down to eat it. I would leave the Widow and the Hawk on their own for a while.

"Whaddayaknow," a clipped voice said, and I looked up to see Anna, the mutant, sliding into the seat across from me. "What brings you to the Big Apple?"

"Shopping." I motioned over to where Natasha and Clint had walked off to, seeing that they looked quite deep in conversation. "What about you?"

"I live here. Well, school's not far. They look cozy over there."

"Exactly."

"Ah, evil plans are fun. Well, unless they're actually evil."

"Yep."

"Any particular occasion for shopping?"

I considered. Most likely, she would find out eventually, so I may as well tell her.

"Logan asked me out. Natasha decided t-shirts were not appropriate for a first date."

"Ah, so that's what Tony was talking about."

"Pardon?"

She grinned. "Tony keeps me up to date on the gossip. He was raving about Clint being a bird and Logan coming to the Helecarrier and I eventually just hung up on him."

"Not much patience for idiocy?"

"Nope. Anyway, I heard you've found a new power aspect?"

"Yeah, I apparently got fire from this necklace," I said, loosening the necklace, which I had taken to wearing constantly, and handing it to her. She inspected it closely, then handed it back. "And I already had a knack for some kind of mindreading trick, and I'm learning to use that. I can get flashbacks of my past, which I can control, and occasionally I can get glimpses into other people's past."

"That's pretty cool. It's a little like what Prof does, but just in the past."

"Who's this?" Natasha asked, walking over to our table. Clint followed, looking a little sour.

"Anna, X-Man. Natasha Romanoff? Clint Barton?"

"How would you know?" Clint asked, a little too sharply. Natasha had stiffened as well.

"I've heard about you."

"Well, I've never heard of an Anna with the X-Men," Natasha said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'm fairly new."

"Tony's a gossip," I told Natasha, rolling my eyes.

"Hmmph. Ready to get back to shopping? I hear cute flats calling your name."

"I guess so," I said, rising and picking up my bags. "See you, Anna."

It took forever to find shoes to fit me, even longer than it had to find dress pants to fit me. Finally, Natasha found a pair of silk flats that were such a dark shade of pink they looked black until the light hit them. We paid, and Natasha pulled out her phone to call Happy. Clint pulled me over to the side, away from Natasha.

"I know what you're trying to do. Stop it. I don't need your help." His eyes held mine, and behind the craggy features, I saw something strange.

"You really do like her," I said in wonder. "I was just doing it for a joke. I didn't realize you actually liked her!" He pressed his lips together, and Natasha briefly glanced over to us before returning to her call.

"Keep it quiet. Just leave it, okay? I'll be fine." He looked away, but not before I saw the flash of pain in his eyes.

"What're you guys talking about?" Natasha rejoined us, slipping her phone back into her purse.

"Nothing really," he replied, shooting me a warning glance. I nodded ever so slightly.

"Come on, then. Happy'll be here soon, and you need to get your beauty sleep," she told me. I looked at my watch to see that it was now almost nine o'clock. All around us, stores were closing up. 

"When did we get here?"

"Around two. Why?"

"This is the longest I've ever spent shopping."

"Well, congratulations on your shopping marathon. Now let's go," Clint said impatiently.

We strode out of the mall, and into the waiting car.


	17. Knock Em Dead

A sheet of freezing water soaked me, and I yelped and shot out of bed. Natasha eyed me with a tiny smirk, empty bucket in her hand, and I glowered at her.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You can dry yourself off quite easily." I scowled and pulled the water off my body and out of my bed, until it was in a lump floating between me and Natasha. I grinned, and she shifted her weight uneasily. "Atla-"

"What are you-"

Clint was cut off as Natasha ducked and the water ball sailed over her head and hit him full in the face.

"Clint! Sorry, I didn't see you there!"

He stood, looking at me, water dripping from his short hair, then shook his head so water sprayed Natasha. She yelped, and he looked at her with amusement. "Just helping Atla." I pulled the rest of the water off Clint and let it dissipate.

"Why the wakeup call?" I asked, pulling the water off her, too, and playing with it in midair.

"I thought you might like to get some training in at some point today. It's already almost noon, and if you want to train or dance you need to get a move on so you can shower before your date tonight."

I felt the knot in my stomach return at the mention of the date, and I nodded and let the last of the water ball go. Training had turned out to be a wonderful way to decrease stress, but dance was still the best.

"Give me a few minutes to get dressed. Dance?" Nat nodded, one side of her mouth pulling up, and left, pulling Clint behind her. I pulled on my favorite leotard, dark blue with red lacing through the neckline, and black short yoga pants, then grabbed my dance bag and left for the training room.

A few hours later, I motioned to Natasha that I was done, and we stopped sparring. Clint, who was acting as coach, nodded and started to say something, but I cut him off.

"I need to go get ready." Natasha nodded.

"Let me know when you're dressed and I'll help with your hair and makeup." I nodded and walked back to my room.

I allowed myself a good shower before getting dressed. It didn't take long to put on the simple outfit Natasha had found in the mall the other day: a fuschia blouse with a small cutaway and gold pin in the back and a long black jacket if I was cold (I was not about to be one of those girls who purposely dresses cold and then steals their date's jacket), and black jeans with my dark flats. I held up the jacket, wondering if I should put it on now, and Natasha knocked.

"You done?"

"Yeah," I called back, throwing the jacket on my bed. Natasha let herself in, toting an enormous toolbox. I eyed it apprehensively.

"What's all that?"

"That's what I'm going to need to get your hair and makeup." She set it down on my vanity, then grabbed the jacket from my bed and draped it over the mirror. "I don't want you to see until I'm done."

Half an hour later, she had managed to wrangle my hair into a braid and from there a bun, but was still puzzling over how much makeup I needed.

"Smokey eyes, or natural, or colored? Blush? Red or pink or fuschia lips?" she mused to herself.

"Natural, a little blush, and fuschia," I told her, getting a little annoyed. She had been talking to herself for five minutes, and enough was enough.

"Oh, all right. Close your eyes."

Some time later, I heard her whip the jacket off the mirror, and she spun my chair to face it. I studied myself, then nodded.

"Looks good. Thanks, Nat."

"Any time. Knock 'em dead." She nodded at the clock, and I did a double take as I saw that it was already ten minutes to eight. I grabbed my black purse and jacket and made sure I had everything I needed before heading out to the lounge. On the way, Bruce and Tony stuck their heads out of their lab, and Tony wolf-whistled.

"Shut it, Stark." Tony pulled the corners of his mouth down in an absurd pout, and Bruce quickly put in, "Where are you going, all dressed up like that?"

I flushed, and Tony singsonged, "Atla and Logan, sitting in a tree- K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

I let my eyes glow a little orange, and he shut up quickly. He went all the way out of the lab and said, "Well, I'll walk you over. Hey Bruce, suffering a green-eyed monster attack?"

Bruce scowled.

"Green eyes?" I looked from one to the other. "I may be better than Thor, but I still need help with the American stuff. Is the Hulk coming out? Guys?"

"It's nothing, Atla," Bruce said, his gaze never leaving Tony. "Forget it."

Tony snapped his wrist back into the lab, and Bruce quickly got out of the way as the pieces of the Iron Man suit flew out of the lab and assembled themselves on Tony. "Come on, let's go!"

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go over the decorations for the new tower with Pepper tonight." His voice resonated with something besides the metallic timbre the helmet gave him, and Bruce and I smiled knowingly.

"Right."

"Decorations."

"Ah, quiet." He pulled me down the corridor and to the lounge. Tony continued past, I assumed to the carrier part where he could take off. I looked at the clock and, seeing that Logan would arrive in five minutes, sat in a large overstuffed armchair. I pulled a small blob of water up and elongated it into a shimmering cord and wove it through my fingers until I looked like I had baskets for hands.

"Shame you didn't turn out to be a mutant. Water's useful," Logan said from the door. I looked up and let the water dissipate.

"Asgardians are better." I stood up and grabbed my purse and jacket.

"You look nice."

"So do you." He had opted for a black leather jacket and clean white shirt with black pants and shoes. He looked a little uncomfortable, but still managed to maintain a little of the bad boy look.

"You might want to put that coat on. It's going to be chilly, even at sea level."

I did, and we had just started to leave the lounge when Tony, still encased in the armor, planted himself in the way.

"I want her home by two, young man," he said in his most pompous tone. I rolled my eyes.

"We're both older than you."

"By quite a bit," Logan pointed out. A single claw lazily flicked out. "And not even a gold-titanium alloy is stronger than adamantium."

"Logan. Tony, go snog Pepper or something."

"Snog? What are you talking about?" I didn't have to see Tony's face to imagine his utter confusion.

"Go kiss Pepper."

"I may just take that advice." His voice was resonating oddly again, and Logan smirked.

"Off you go, chop chop," I said, pushing past him. Logan followed, and Tony followed behind him, his armor going whirr-clank, whirr-clank with every step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I spent all of yesterday either in the car driving back from Spring Break or with my boyfriend. Anyways. Hope you enjoy, next week is the date!


	18. A Very Awkward Date Scene

As we walked out to the Blackbird, I asked, "So where are we going?"

"First we're going to the school to get a car. The jet is great, but it's not great at blending in. Then, we go to the movie theater. I was thinking The Book of Life," he said, a little sheepishly. "Unless you wanted something else?"

"No, that sounds good to me." We got in the jet and took off, and soon had landed at the school.

That's very interesting. Why didn't you tell us you had mindsight?

I startled and looked around suspiciously. It sounded like Professor Xavier, but I didn't see him anywhere.

"What's the matter?" Logan looked a little concerned.

"I thought I heard Professor X, but I don't see him anywhere."

He frowned ferociously, and the Professor's voice continued, now sounding a little amused, Have you forgotten my mutation? Telepathy is a useful skill, as I'm sure you will discover.

"Stay out of my head," I said aloud.

"He's in your head? Well, he generally respects privacy, though there are some exceptions."

Hmm. Well, he would know, wouldn't he?

"Come on, Logan. Let's get out of here." He nodded, still frowning a little, and led me into a garage with rows of cars and two motorcycles. One was a glossy black Harley with red rims and a low-slung seat, the other silver with the large X logo of the school etched near the seat over the Harley logo. Logan shot me an apologetic look.

"Do you mind riding a motorcycle? I probably should have asked earlier. If you don't want to ride one, I'm sure the Professor wouldn't mind if I borrowed a car-"

"No, a bike is fine," I said quickly. He walked over to the black one and patted it on the handlebars. 

"This one's mine. Scott owns the other." He grinned, his eyes a little far away. "Not that that stopped me before I got mine." He slung a leg over, and I awkwardly climbed on behind him, glad I had worn jeans and had my hair back. "You ready?"

I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me and said, "Yeah."

"You might want to hold on," he said as he started the bike. I wrapped my arms around him, and he drove the bike out of the garage and through a gold gate.

Have fun. Don't stay out too late.

I grimaced, but I could already feel the nosy Professor leaving my mind as the school receded into the distance. We drove for a little while, and I soon became accustomed to the wind blowing past and began enjoying the ride. My hair seemed to be holding firm, most likely because of the amount of gel it had taken to keep my hair in the bun, but I was very glad Logan had warned me about the coat. At this speed, it was pretty cold.

After a while, we came to a decent-sized mall, nowhere near the size of the Manhattan Mall, but still respectable, and Logan slowed as we entered the parking lot near the movie theater. He found a parking space and coasted in, putting down a foot as the engine idled, then stopped as he turned it off. I pulled my arms back to my side, and he dismounted. I followed, and we walked side by side into the theater and to the ticket booth.

"Two for The Book of Life," Logan told the ticket seller.

She punched it in her computer. "Thirteen eighty-five," she said to Logan, and he reached for his wallet.

"No, let me," I said, putting my hand in my purse to get my money.

"No, I've got it," he said, and handed the money to the seller, who gave him the tickets. He handed one to me.

"Fine, but I'm buying popcorn," I told him as we walked to concessions.

"Fine." I ordered a large popcorn and two sodas, and we headed for the theater. 

We got in the theater in plenty of time, and watched the previews and commercials for a while until the movie started. I hadn't really thought about the movie before, but it really was a great movie. I found myself clutching Logan's arm at some parts, but he said nothing. At one point, I was watching through a sheen of tears, and I felt Logan put his arm around me without saying anything. I leaned into him gratefully, and even as the sad part ended and the movie took a more cheerful tone, Logan didn't move his arm. As the credits rolled, he stretched, then stood up. I followed and grabbed the now-empty popcorn and my drink, and he picked up his as well.

"That was amazing," I said.

"Yeah. Ready to go back?"

"Not yet. Let's go get some ice cream or something."

"Sounds good. There's a Menchie's around here somewhere." We went back to the motorcycle, and went to the frozen yogurt store and went in, chattering about the movie as we did. We loaded up our cups with ice cream and paid, then sat in a corner table to enjoy and eat.

"That was a lot of fun," I said, scraping the bottom of my cup for the last bit of chocolate.

"Yeah." He put the last spoonful of mint fro-yo into his mouth. Then he pushed his chair back and asked, "Ready to go back now?"

"Yeah, let's go." I followed suit and pulled on my jacket as we walked out the door.

The ride back to the school was quite enjoyable, but ended too soon. As we pulled into the garage, Professor X's voice said, Ah, good, you brought him back in one piece. And no fights.

I sighed, but said nothing as Logan and I walked back to the Blackbird. As we strapped in, Logan said, "That was really great. Would you like to do it again sometime?"

"I'd love to." The engine picked up, and anything he might have said to that was lost in the roar.

He walked me to the control room door, and stopped.

"I had a great time tonight. Thank you."

"Me too. Do you have a cell phone? This way I can call you to talk without Tinhead and the others listening in."

I gave him my number, and after he had put it into his phone and put it away, I reached out and hugged him. This time, he hugged me back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lordy, this is a mess. As I believe I have said, I started this fic when I was 15 and had just gotten into Marvel, and I had never been on a date in my life so I had no idea what I was doing writing this scene. But here it is, a testament to a hopeless idiot romantic. Also so sorry for how late this is!! Life got really crazy for a couple weeks. But I swear I'm gonna keep on schedule now.


	19. Interlude

The little girl slipped through the window and ran through the house. Behind her, she could hear a muttered imprecation from the American doctor she had been sent to find. She ran out the door of the house, barely escaping a swat with a broom and a curse as she darted past the house's owner. Through the alleyways she went, until she was far away from the secluded square like the red-haired American had told her. She stopped and sat in a doorway in a rare deserted alley to catch her breath and mentally congratulate herself on a job well done. Opening her fist, she counted the bills the woman had given her, and smiled as she saw how much she had. This would be enough to get her by for at least a few weeks, a month if she stretched it.

"That's a lot of money for such a small girl," a voice called from the other side of the alley. She looked up and saw a tall man crouched in the door opposite her. He stood and walked over to her. "What will you do with it all?"

She instinctively clutched it tight. "I'm older than I look. And I'll buy food."

"Just food? No dolls or pretty clothes?"

She shook her head, though inwardly she sighed in longing. Once, she had known dolls and pretty dresses and jewels to go in her hair. But those days had died when her mistress did, and since then she had lived on the street. The stranger saw her face and smiled, dark eyes glinting in his pale face.

"Not even these?" A pair of golden bangles appeared in his hands, though she had not seen him reach into a pocket. She shrugged a little, but her eyes betrayed her.

"They are pretty." Her hands reached for them, almost of their own accord.

"How old are you?" he asked, pulling the bangles away.

"Nearly twelve," she lied. She was really only 6, but he didn't need to know that.

"Ah, well, that's old enough to have a look." He held out the bangles again, and she took them in her hands, inspecting them. A narrow pattern of scales ran across them, and when she turned one, she saw that they were dragons, connected head to tail. The style was foreign, blocky and fiercer than the elegantly curved dragons that decorated rich women's saris.

"Well, you've had your look, how would you like to buy them? 1000 rupees."

She did some rapid fire calculation in her head, suddenly grateful for her mistress's lessons in math. If she bought them, she would still have enough for a couple weeks worth of food. Besides, the bangles looked as though she could pass them off to be worth much more than a thousand rupees. She could easily sell them again for at least ten thousand, maybe more.

"All right." She peeled off a 1000 bill and handed it to him, then pulled the bangles on. As soon as they were around her bony wrists, they shrank abruptly so they fit almost exactly to her wrist.

"Hey! What's going on here?" She turned accusingly to the man, but he looked down at her, watching.

A strange sensation in her wrist where the bangles rested drew her attention away, and she pulled one away from her wrist as much as she could. A ring of dark green scales was encircling her wrist where the bangle had rested, and when she looked at her other arm, the ring was there too, and as she watched, a delicate line of the scales peeped out by her thumb, then prickled its way up the inner part of her arms and across the top of her chest. She felt the scales split where her arms met her body and felt the lines running down her body and her legs. After the split, the scales traced up her neck and to her face, running on either side of her mouth and following her cheekbones to the sides. A thicker band of scales sprouted above her eyebrows and followed the curve into a strong downward point in the center of her forehead. Something behind her eyes burned, and she closed her eyes from the pain, then a stronger wave of pain ran through her back and she opened her eyes again very quickly with a hiss like that of a snake. Her eyes, the stranger noticed with a satisfied nod, had been turned from a brown close to black to gold, with no white and slit pupils. She blinked, studying her arms with a frown, before looking back up at the stranger.

"What have you done to me?"

"You should be grateful. How many girls can say they can become a dragon?"

"What?"

"Just... imagine your arm turning to that of a dragon. The scales taking over, nails turning to claws."

Frowning, she looked back to her arm, curling her hand into a fist, deciding to humor this stranger. The green scales around her wrist turned jet black, and green scales spread across the back of her hand. Her fingers melted together, leaving her with a thumb and two fingers. Her nails lengthened and hardened, turning to silver talons. She flexed her hand, and a dark green dragon's hand responded. Focusing on the other hand, she did the same so she had two dragon arms up to her elbows. She noticed distantly that where the bracelet rested and the line up her arm had turned jet black when she transformed.

"Well done," the stranger said, clapping a little sarcastically. "Ready to try the rest?"

She thought quickly. The man had to be a magician, but if she could kill him, his spell on her would break and she would be normal. She took a step towards him. "I think so." Another step. "How does that work?" Another, until she was just a couple meters from him. She crouched, then leapt at the stranger, claws outstretched to claw at his throat.

The tail of the dragon on her right wrist twisted out and linked with the tail of the dragon on her left, forming a tight pair of handcuffs. The man caught her hands and pushed them aside, almost contemptuously, with an amazing strength that belied his rather skinny frame. She stumbled and fell hard onto her hands, rolled so she was on her back, and tried to get up, but the man planted a foot on her chest.

"Naughty, naughty. Mustn't try that again."

She struggled to rise, but to no avail. Finally, she admitted defeat and laid back on the filthy ground, hands above her head, panting with exertion.

"Will you recognize me as your master?"

She nodded numbly.

"Swear on it."

"I swear!"

"What is your name?"

"Saraswati. And you?"

"Hmm. Indeed, what can you call me? Ah, I know: Isha. A fitting name. Will you behave now?"

She nodded again, and Isha removed his foot from her chest. The dragons' tails unwound and returned to their previous positions. Saraswati carefully stood up, noticing as she did that the claws left grooves in the pavingstones of the alley.

"Well, let's see you as a real dragon, now shall we?"

Obediently, following his directions, she imagined herself changing. Legs grew longer and scaled over, and scales spread from her forearms to cover her upper arms and torso. Her toes elongated and melted together into claws like her arms. As a tail emerged from her hindquarters, she fell forward onto her front legs, for truly they were no longer arms. Then, after a brief pause, her face changed and stretched out into a long muzzle, and her long, matted hair pulled up to the front of her head and turned into two horns at her brow ridge, curling up almost to the top of her head. What was left of her raggedy clothing tore and fell away as two large, slightly awkward wings sprouted from her shoulder blades. As her wings stopped growing and folded down, she shook herself, then looked around. She was now on eye level with Isha, and she hopefully checked his face for any approval, but he was shaking his head. Another man emerged from the shadows, with very short blond hair, a rather stony face, and carrying a strange weapon on his back.

"You are too young, I'm afraid, and I have to attend to other matters right now," Isha said, motioning to the blonde man. "It would take too long to wait for you to grow up naturally. I'll give you a boost." All at once, the ground shot away from her by several meters, and her back was level with the tops of the buildings.

A growly mush of harsh words erupted from the small alleyway where Saraswati had left the American doctor, and the blonde man whipped a pistol from a holster on his belt. Isha muttered something to him, and he relaxed, though he did not put the gun away.

"It seems it is time for us to leave," Isha said, returning to Hindi. "Go back to a human, I need to talk to you, and you're giving me a crick in my neck."

She nodded her huge, crocodilian head and began to shrink, leaning back on two legs and flexing her fingers as the claws returned to hands. When she had completely turned back to a human, she noticed that she was now only a little shorter than Isha. The blonde man had turned his head away from her, and she noticed with embarrassment that her clothes were gone, and that she was also much more mature looking. Isha tossed a green bundle to her.

"Put these on." She unwrapped it and found a green dress with a gold belt. A pair of gold sandals fell at her feet. She gratefully pulled the dress over her head and tied the belt tightly around her waist, then pulled on the sandals, luxuriating in the new feeling of something between her feet and the paving stones.

"I will find you a place at a wealthy house. I want to be able to find you again, so stay there." He looked at her, and she nodded in agreement. "Hold still a second."

Green light swept over her, and where it passed, the green lines of scales disappeared. She looked at him with brown eyes full of curiosity.

"Now you look normal. And now, for a new name."

"What's wrong with Saraswati?"

"Lovely, but not quite fitting anymore. And long. Hmm." Isha turned to the blonde man, and they conversed briefly, too low for her to hear. After a moment, Isha turned back to her. "Kaida. It is a pretty name, though an unusual one in this part of the world."

"Oh." She hesitantly sounded out the word, trying it out. "Kaida."

"Yes, very nice, now let's get you to your new place of employment." Saraswati--no, she must remember to call herself Kaida now-- followed Isha through the alleyways, the blonde man following like a pale shadow. After a few minutes, they found themselves in front of a grand house. Isha went around to a side door, which clearly led to the servant's quarters and the blonde man hung back. Sara--Kaida followed Isha, and as they approached the door, worked up the courage to ask, "What does it mean? Kaida, I mean."

He turned his head to look at her, and the corners of his mouth curled up. "Why, it ought to be obvious. What else for my little dragon?"

"What do you mean?" A servant was approaching them, looking a little harried.

"Sir, I'm afraid that--" Isha cut off the servant with a gesture.

"I have a girl here to be a housekeeper. Do you have an opening for her?"

The servant relaxed visibly. "Oh, thank Vishnu! Yes, yes, of course! Come on, then, girl."

The servant started pulling her away, but at the last second, Isha leaned close and whispered, "Good luck, 'dragon'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...My bad. I was out of town last weekend for college club fencing nationals, but I'm back!


	20. JARVIS Likes You

The lights flickered on the Helecarrier deck. I didn't realize it was possible to lights to turn on and off pointedly, but they managed somehow. I rolled my eyes and let go of Logan, who readjusted his shirt.

"So, see you next week?"

"Yep. See you." He nodded and walked back to the Blackbird. I watched until the black jet was out of sight, and then I went back in.

"Do you have to do that every week?"

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answer to?" Tony said, still with one hand on the light controls for the deck. "Also, how is it you and Logan can survive out there for so long at this high an altitude?"

"I'm Asgardian, he has a wicked healing rate. I explained this to you last week, after the last date. For a genius, you have a really short memory."

Tony scowled, and started walking away. Then, he turned abruptly and said, "Avengers' meeting in ten in the lounge."

I started to argue, but Tony had already left the control room. With a sigh, I headed back to my room to get my hair down and change into more comfortable clothes.

For the past few months, Logan and I had gone out to the movies every Saturday, and it had made a nice change from the constant training Fury was insisting on. The one-eyed leader had made it quite plain that he trusted me--well, he could probably throw me a fair distance, so that wasn't really a good benchmark. He barely trusted me to go out on the weekends without revealing the secret plans of the Helecarrier.

As soon as I got to my room, I pulled the various pins out of my hair, and I could swear that they let out a sigh of relief as they were released from their struggle to keep my hair in place. Though I had stopped wearing makeup, I had to keep my hair up if I didn't want a mangled rat's nest on my head. I gave my head a shake, allowing my hair to swing free for a bit before corraling it into a ponytail. I then changed into comfy jeans and a well-worn TARDIS t-shirt and slid into some old Converse before heading to the lounge.

When I got there, I saw that I was not the first, but not the last either to the room. Tony was pacing in the corner, while Steve sat in a chair, intensely watching the tail end of an episode of Star Trek. Bruce and Thor were playing a heated game of foosball in a corner. As I watched, Bruce threw up his hands in exasperation as Thor let out a booming laugh.

"I always thought Picard looked a bit like Xavier," I said, turning to Steve and leaning on his chair.

"Most bald guys look similar," Steve replied, not looking up.

"I guess so."

Tony looked at his watch and sighed. "I better go get the master assassins." He stalked out of the room, in search of Natasha and Clint.

"What's got his knickers in a twist?" I looked around the room.

"Apparently he has some big news to tell us, but he refused to tell anyone until everyone was here." Steve rolled his eyes, but continued to watch TV. Soon, the credits started rolling, but still he watched. I spotted the remote on a nearby chair and smirked. I walked over to the chair and flung myself down dramatically on the remote. The TV turned off abruptly as Patrick Stewart flashed across the screen.

"Hey!" Steve looked wildly around, and I cracked up.

"Dude, those were credits. Why do you need to watch them?"

"The graphics are so cool! Besides, they're interesting," he said, a little defensively.

"Only you would be interested in credits."

"No, I bet lots of people are."

"Like who?"

"Well..."

"Ha!"

"God, cut it out, will you? You sound like you're five," Bruce said, turning away from the foosball to scowl at us.

"Do not!" Steve and I said in unison, then grinned at each other. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Thor, who's winning?"

"I believe I just won," Thor replied with a huge grin. Bruce shook his head.

"I hate foosball."

"Then why do you keep playing?" I asked.

"Because until you got here, Steve was only interested in the Enterprise and Tony was pacing the way he does when he's too annoyed to talk. Thor asked for a game and I had nothing better to do."

At that moment, Tony shoved Natasha and Clint unceremoniously into the room with a mighty scowl.

"I told you ten minutes, I even told JARVIS to remind you-"

"And we were in the middle of a training sim when JARVIS was supposed to remind us, so he followed protocol and waited until we were done," Natsha interrupted, glaring at Tony.

"Calm down, Tone, they're here now," Bruce said hastily, clearly trying to avoid a blowup. Clint nodded and pulled Natasha over to a couple of chairs.

Tony started to reply, then sighed. "Fine."

"What's up?" Steve asked.

"You guys remember Stark Tower?" The rest of the Avengers nodded, but I looked blankly back at him.

"You named a tower after yourself?"

"Well, yes, I did design it with Pepper. Unfortunately, it was pretty much destroyed in the Battle of New York a couple years ago--you were still in Ireland then," Tony told me. I nodded my understanding, and he went on.

"I had it rebuilt, but I was thinking about a new name for it."

"Hold on a second," Clint said, leaning back. "You called an Avengers' meeting to discuss a new name for your idol of megalomania?"

"Seriously, Stark?"

"Let me finish!" Tony exclaimed. glaring at Clint and Natasha, who glared right back. "I was thinking a new name would be appropriate. What do you think of the Avenger Tower?"

"What?"

"I was thinking, it's pretty cool up here in the flying aircraft carrier, but I don't much care for direct supervision. And I think it would be great for everyone." Tony looked around.

"Sounds pretty cool to me, if there's space for everyone," I said, glancing around at the faces of the others. Tony snorted.

"There is plenty of space, don't you worry. So what do the rest of you think?"

"Is there a training floor?" Natasha asked.

"Science lab?" Bruce queried.

"Yes and yes. I have enough floors for each of you to have your own and still have some for other uses," Tony responded, stretching out on a chair. Natasha shrugged.

"It's fine by me, but you better check with Fury first."

"He did," Fury said, walking in. "I said yes, as long as you can behave. I want you all to check in with SHIELD at least once a month though, and Agents Romanoff and Barton, I want you to check in every week. Clear?"

"Yes sir."

"All right then." And he was out again, the ever-moving Cyclops.

"So when do we move out?" I asked.

"I was thinking tomorrow or day after. How soon can you all pack everything up?"

"I'll be ready by tomorrow evening," Steve said, thinking.

The rest of us nodded, and Tony said, "Tomorrow evening it is. See you then." We all filed out, going to our bedrooms to get some sleep.

The next morning I was up fairly early to get some training in before I had to pack. As I walked into the training room, I saw that Clint had clearly had the same idea. The archer was firing off arrows at a remarkable clip, sending shot after shot into targets that popped up and fell as they were invariably hit. Finally, JARVIS's cool voice intoned, "100 targets in 90 seconds." Clint nodded, and used his arm to wipe some sweat off his forehead. I walked over to the pile of towels and threw one over to him. He caught and nodded his thanks, mopping his face.

"Want to do hand-to-hand?" I asked, after he had recovered a little.

"Sounds good," he said, and without warning, barreled into me. We tusseled for a while, until JARVIS said, "it is currently 12:00, so if you would like extra time to pack, I would suggest you stop now."

"Thanks, JARVIS." We headed out of the training room right as Natasha was heading in.

"Don't you need to pack?" Clint asked her. She shook her head.

"I packed already. It didn't take long, I don't have a whole lot of stuff here." She continued into the training room, and Clint and I split up and went to our rooms.

Natasha had been right: packing didn't take much time. I grabbed all of the stuff I had brought with me and what Natasha and I had bought, but only a couple of the jumpsuits. All of it went into a large suitcase that had been deposited in my living room. It took more time to put my books into several boxes that had been with the suitcase. I checked the rooms again, and sighed as I saw my U2 poster still on the wall of the bedroom. I walked back in and pulled the poster down, then rolled it up neatly and put it into the front pocket of the suitcase. Then I frowned as I remembered something.

"JARVIS, what should I do with my stuff?"

"Bring it down to the lounge. I believe Tony has some things that could help you move your things. Would you like me to summon them?"

"Umm, sure."

After a few minutes, a tapping noise came from the door. I opened it to see more than a dozen flat objects hovering a foot off the floor. Each was around the size of a coaster and black with the same glowing blue as Tony's arc reactor around the corners and in the center. As soon as the door was opened all the way, they flew inside and to the boxes, clearly waiting for something. I blinked at them all.

"JARVIS? What are these?"

"Robotic lifters. Pick up a box and put it on one of them, and it will support it and you can direct it vocally, or set it to follow you."

I walked over to one of the boxes, and one lifter floated over as well. I hefted the box, then started to set it on the lifter. A blue light scanned the bottom of the box, and the lifter set itself in the center of the box. Experimentally, I moved the box a few inches to the right, then the left. The lifter followed its movements exactly, so it was always in the center of the box. 

"Pretty neat." I lowered the box, expecting some give downwards, but it was like putting the box down on a table. I sat down on it, and it stayed one foot off the ground. I went over to the next box, and saw the first one following me over. I turned.

"Stay," I told it. It felt a little odd to talk to an inanimate object, but then again, I did that all the time with JARVIS. I went to the next box, and another lifter detached itself from the pack. This went on until all the boxes had been loaded onto a lifter. Then, I told them all, "Follow." I walked out of the room with my purse on one shoulder, my suitcase in the other hand, and a stream of boxes following me a foot off the floor.

On the way, I passed the lab, where Tony was just leaving. Over his shoulder into the lab, he was saying, "-figure out where my lifters went-" He turned his head and stopped short. He looked at the long stream of boxes behind me, and sighed.

"JARVIS definitely likes you. What is all that?"

"My books. My clothes are in here." I motioned with my suitcase.

"You're the only girl I know that would have more books than clothes."

"Whatever. So, how are we getting all our stuff to the tower?"

"I can send the lifters there." He went to the first box and picked it up off the lifter, then pressed the four corners. He put the box back on, and all the lifters joined together in a mass. Nothing else happened. Tony frowned.

"Oh wait, they need to be in the lab." He opened the door of the lab again, and the mass squeezed itself through the door.

"Tony? What the hell?" I heard Bruce say from inside. I followed Tony in, and saw that in one corner, more lifters were surrounding the mass of boxes and shaping themselves into a miniplane. Bruce was watching them with some confusion. All but that corner had been cleaned out, and a few robots were carefully placing tools into padded boxes.

"JARVIS likes Atla, and decided to send her some help," Tony said, walking over to the plane and testing them. "Specifically, those new lifters I've been working on." One robot spun a little too quickly to get to a box, and Tony ducked as a wrench flew over his head and landed at my feet. "Dummy, I will unpack the dunce cap."

"So that's why those lifters flew out of here. I was a little worried." 

"Are you guys packed?" I asked, picking up the wrench and passing it to an apologetic Dummy.

"I already sent our clothes over," Tony said. "Yours was the last of it. Once these boxes are packed, I'll send them with your books."

"Oh. Well, when are we leaving?"

"Now." Tony walked past me and into the hall. Bruce and I looked at each other, and followed him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Oops. Finals and packing and unpacking are my only excuse. And I'm a bit of a piece of shit. My bad. Have some packing fun!


	21. A Little Perspective

"Atla?" Steve knocked on my door, and I looked up from my current book.

"Come in," I called. I was so grateful for the soundproofing in this tower. Tony had once blown up his workroom, and I hadn't even realized it one floor above him until he came up the stairs coughing, followed by a spurt of smoke.

Steve entered, completely dressed. "I hope I didn't wake you up," he said, looking at my huge U2 t-shirt and pajama pants. 

"No, I was up. I woke up an hour ago and couldn't get back to sleep. What's up?"

"I wanted to show you something. You should get dressed."

"--Right. If you'll wait outside?" He nodded and left, and I changed out of my pajamas into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and sweatshirt. I left the room and saw Steve, who led me out of the hall and into the lower floor where Tony kept his vehicles.

"Where are we going?"

"Away from the city; there's too much light here." He led me to a blue Porsche, and said, "JARVIS, if we're not back when Stark wakes up, let him know that we're out."

"Of course, sir." 

We drove for some distance, until the lights of the city were out of sight and the rest of the area was completely dark, except for our headlights. Steve checked the lit dashboard and pulled over to the side of the road.

"Perfect, perfect timing." He turned off the engine and the lights and got out of the car.

"For what?"I climbed out of the passenger side and followed his white hoodie, practically glowing in the darkness. He stopped abruptly, and I walked up next to him.

"Steve, what-"

"Just listen. Okay, so right now it's dark, but you can see a few things, like the outlines of trees, and how it's starting to go grayish."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Now close your eyes and count to fifty."

I glanced sideways at him, and saw the glint of his eyes looking back. I sighed slightly, closed my eyes, and counted in my head. When I opened them, the Sun had risen to the left and I could see that we were on an overlook. Maple trees spread out in all their splendor beneath us, a massive forest that seemed fantastical with the sunlight glinting off dewy leaves. I staggered a little from the change.

"To me, since I had my eyes open the entire time, that seemed to take forever to turn light. But to you, it seems like one moment everything was dark, but then the next, it was bright. Right?"

"Yeah," I said, slowly seeing where he was going.

"That's how it was for me, waking up in 2012 after seventy years in the Arctic. For you, everything was gradual and you had time to adjust from gray to bright, but me?" He laughed bitterly. "I was thrown into this world of brightness headlong."

I turned to look fully at him, and saw him standing like the soldier he once was, with his feet together and hands on the seams of his pants, his lips pressed tightly together, chin up defiantly, though his eyes betrayed a slight sparkle in the early morning light. I took two steps and hugged him. We stood there together for a moment, until he let go and nodded brusquely at me.

"I...needed that. Probably should be careful, though, you haven't tamed Logan enough for him to not take my head off if he sees us hugging."

I laughed. "He knows that we're friends. You're like a brother to me."

He nodded, his blue eyes sparkling again, but this time with mischief. "And you are my annoying little sister." I smacked him on the arm, and he pulled the corners of his mouth down in a comical grimace. I laughed at his face.

"You're a supersoldier, I didn't hurt you that bad."

"But you're an Asgardian!"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Come on, we should be heading back now, before traffic gets too bad," I said, starting back towards the car.

"We're probably too late for that, but yeah," he said, abandoning the silliness and following. The car ride back to the tower was spent in companionable silence amidst the honks and yells from other drivers trying to get into the greatest city in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... am so sorry y'all. I will try to keep uploading but yikes.


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